Crazy For You
by lola.c.prior
Summary: Originally called 'Divergent High'. Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, any other literary references made in this story, or the title, which, if you're wondering, came from a musical with the same title. So, our favorite and not-so-favorite characters from the beloved series are back in this A/U modern day tale about high school's love, drama, and adventures. Rated T for DivergenT
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: This story contains a bunch of events that happen in the real trilogy by Veronica Roth, but it's set in today's world. Some characters may be OC, and if that is a problem for you, just PM me or leave a review wishing me to keep the characters as Mrs. Roth describes them. This story is not so sappy, but I'm not either, so read at your own risk. Now, let's start the show!**

* * *

**Tris POV:**

"Beatrice! Get up! We'll be late for school!" Caleb shouts from downstairs. I hear his come up to my room, so I get ready to throw a pillow at him, "Beatrice, did you hear me? I don't want to be late again. What will Dr. Matthews think of us?"_ Damn you Caleb. Why do you even care about that still? Dr. Matthews calls you her star student. You have nothing to worry about. Nothing that will mess up your perfect 4.0 permanent record. At least you are my alarm clock..._

I am interrupted by Caleb banging on my door, "Beatrice! Are you even listening? I have no intention of getting anymore tardy slips!"

"Then convince mom and dad to buy me a car!"

"Grr, just get up!"

I roll my eyes and slip on some black skinny jeans and a dark gray top. Before slipping out of my room, I pull my iPod off of its charger and stick it in my backpack. I travel downstairs.

"Goodbye Caleb," my mom kisses his cheek and turns to me, "Good morning, Beatrice."

"Morning mom." I grab an apple and a water and run out the door, behind Caleb.

"Bye dad!"

"Goodbye, Beatrice! try not to get into too much trouble toda-" he tells me, but his voice is cut off by the swinging door.

I get into the shotgun seat. Caleb was already there waiting for me, so as soon as I put on my seat belt, he pulls out of the driveway. He starts telling me about the values of getting into this new club, called the Erudite (for uber-geeks, if you ask me), and he really wants it, but to get in, he needs to get perfect attendance, tardiness included. He goes on and on about this, so I pull out my iPod and listen to Flyleaf's new soundtrack.

* * *

As soon as Caleb and I get to school, we split up. He goes with his friends to get ready for class. There is still 30 minutes until class starts, and now I dread Caleb for making me wake up early. But, that gives me a chance to see my friends, so I go to the cafeteria and meet them, but I cannot find them.

"Hey Tris! Over here!"

I take a deep breath. This is it. A new year, a new beginning. Everything that happened over the summer is history.

I turn my head around and see Christina waving at me. I grin and walk over, "Hey Christina. So I guess we're juniors now. Enjoy your holidays?"

She nods and starts telling me about her trip to Louisiana. She looks dreamily at Will, who's playing Minecraft on his phone.

Then Zeke walks over to me. he puts his arm around my shoulders. I push them off.

"Miss me Tris?"

"Hardly."

"Fine, " he grumbles, "Anyways, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, I met over the summer, while working in an internship at that new burger place downtown. This is Four. Four, this is Tris."

I am greeted by an incredibly handsome young man. His eyes are dark blue and dreamy. He holds out his hand and I look at it dumbfounded. _Tris! Shake it!_ So I smile and shake it blushing. He is _so_ fit. Four smiles and looks at his feet, also blushing.

"So, I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah." He smiles again, then walks with Zeke to get some of the cafeteria's breakfasts.

"So..." Christina says, scooting over to me and wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"What was that?"

"What was what? I smile nervously.

"Tris! Stop it! You know what I mean. Four obviously likes you and you obviously like him. I mean when I got here all of the girls were staring at him. He's so cute, plus he's a newbie, so that complicates things. Like I heard that he's the quarterback for varsity football and kept his number, four, from his old school. Now cheerleaders will want him. What will this mean for us? Hey, maybe I should be a cheerleader!" She keeps talking, but I stop listening. I notice Uriah and Marlene making out and look away. I see Lynn looking in disgust at them, and smile at her. Her eyes find mine and she smirks.

I tap my fingers against my chin, pondering what to do until the bell rings. A shadow passes over me, and I know who it is. "Hey Peter," I say, slightly annoyed.

"Miss me over the summer holidays?"

I roll my eyes.

"That's a little rude. Didn't your parents tell you that it's polite to respond when someone is speaking to you? Say, you're a little stiff."

I ignore him again, but he keeps antagonizing me, "What's wrong? Oh, I see. Didn't get a present from your vacation for me? That's not nice. I think that you deserve a beating."

Then Four walks up, growling, "Touch her and I'll make you sorry."

"Oh? And who are you, newbie?"

"Four."

"That must stand for something."

"Does the last name 'Eaton' ring a bell?" Everyone gasps. Marcus Eaton is the mayor, who has close ties with our principal, Dr. Jeanine Matthews.

After an awkward silence, everyone goes back to what they are doing. Christina is wondering aloud why Four stood up for me and sneaking glances at Will again. I listen to my iPod and glance at Four. He's pointing at Peter and speaking to his face to never come near anyone of us again. He threatens him and Peter walks out, looking scared.

Everyone is again, in shock.

Then the five minute warning bell rings.


	2. Chapter 2

**(Tris POV:) **

We hear the bell.

"Okay, guys! We need to get to class!" Christina tells us. Once we get in the halls, Christina asks me what my first class is.

"Say what? Oh, I still need to pick up my schedule. Crap, see you later Christina."

"Bye Tris!" She tells me, lost in the sea of lost freshmen that are trying to get to class.

* * *

"Hey, Tori," I say, walking up to the front desk.

She holds up her finger, clearly she's on the phone. "Wait one minute," she mouths. I nod.

"Okay. Thank you Mrs. Dephelps. I will tell her that. Bye."

"Sorry," I say blushing.

"There's nothing to be sorry for Tris. Now what can I do for you?"

"I never got my timetable for this semester."

"Really? I thought that those were all taken care of? Oh, right. There's a new senior, The mayor's son. He wanted the best classes for his son, so some rearrangements were made."

I nod, remembering Four.

Soon, Tori has it printed out for me. "Junior already? You're growing up fast girl."

I smile. "Thanks. Have a nice day Tori."

"You too. Here, have a mint."

"Thanks. Bye!"

I look at my schedule, and pop the mint into my mouth. _Now,_ w_hat's first? Oh, right. It's right here in front of you Tris. Real smart of you._

* * *

I walk to math, forgetting that I am late for class. By now, only a few stragglers and people lost or kicked out of class are still in the halls. I try sneaking into math class. Then the teacher, Mr. Adams sees me.

"A little late, are we, Miss Prior?"

I nod uneasily.

"Care to explain why?"

"Uh, I never got my schedule, so I had to go grab it from Tori."

He nods.

"I see. Well, let's not dwell on our flaws. Focus on our strengths!" He tells me.

I smile uneasily and find a place to sit. Susan is sitting next to Caleb, and all of the girls are sitting near Four. He tells them to back off.

"Want to sit here?" He asks me.

I shrug, "Sure."

One of the cheerleaders tries to get Four's attention, "Oh, come on! You could do _so_ much better with me!"

"I don't want you! Or your stupid friends!" They all blush and look away.

Mr. Adams clears his throat, trying to calm down the class, "Alrighty! Listen here! This class will learn. About algebra and how to sit still and quiet. Now, shall we get started? Okay, then! Lesson 1 teaches us about the multiple powers of variables and their uses..."

Four just sits there, listening to Mr. Adams. He doesn't blink, or change his expression. _I cannot take it any longer!_

"Four! Four!" I whisper.

"What?"

"Smile why don't you? All those pretty girls are sneaking glances at you. And you want to sit by me?"

"I like what Zeke told me about you."

"Ha! You trust him?!"

"He's my only friend. Well, I only mostly trust him."

I nod and blush._ He likes me?! Duh, he stood up to Peter for me..._

"Beatrice!"

I whip my head around, "Yes, Susan?"

"I don't understand what Mr. Adams is explaining. Can you help me?"

"Why not ask Caleb? It's obvious he likes you, and he's paying attention."

She blushes, "Thanks anyways Beatrice."

"Anytime."

I stare at the clock for the rest of math, bored as hell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tobias POV: **

By lunch, I am no longer focused on school, but rather on Tris. I try to sit by her in the cafeteria, but she just takes an apple from her backpack and sits next to Christina. So I try to think about what she asked me during algebra. _"Smile for once. Why don't you pay attention to the pretty girls over there? Why me?" Because you're striking Tris. You don't care about what others see in you. You just want to be yourself. You don't give a crap about your appearance. I like that. You're cute the way you are and that's-_

Zeke interrupts my thoughts. "Four? Are you listening? Football tryouts are tomorrow afterschool."

"Already?"

"Yeah, don't look so confused. Amar, the coach likes to start real early."

"Okay," then I start eating my sandwich.

"Four, are you looking at Tris?"

I look away, "No. Why would you think that?"

"This summer you seemed interested in her. Plus you stood up to Peter. Hey, you should ask her to Homecoming!"

"Isn't it a little early to think about that?"

"It's now or never bro. Senior year is your last chance."

"It's also my first chance here."

"Your one and only. Go on. Although Tris has never had a boyfriend before."

"And I've never had a girlfriend."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Why not? A guy like you would get tons of girls."

I shrug, "I don't know. During math, Tris asked me why I don't pay any attention to the pretty girls that were practically throwing themselves at me."

"So you're just waiting for the right girl?"

"I guess so. Hey, why don't you ask Shauna?"

Zeke blushes deeply.

* * *

**Tris POV:**

After lunch, I have public speaking.

"Hey Tris, what's your next class?"

"Public speaking."

"Mine too! And Will's!"

Four walks up to me. "Did you say that you have public speaking next?"

I nod, unsure of what to say.

"So do I." He smiles, then speed walks down the hallway.

"Oh my god! What did he say to you?!"

"Gosh, Christina, he just asked what my next class is. He has the same one as us."

"Oh my god! This is the perfect time to make an impression on him. All you need to do is write a good speech and present it in front of the class. He'll love it!"

"What if that's not what this class is about?"

"Do you have a better idea? It's public speaking. What else could it be about?"

I shrug and we walk down the hall, Will trailing us.

* * *

"Okay, class! Listen up! My name is Eric and I will be your teacher this year."

"You're still a damn student, Eric!" a kid shouts out.

"Yes, I am. A senior. And this is my senior project, so guys will be doing what I say, when I say it. You will refer to me as 'god'. Now, since this is public speaking, and there are only 14 of you, everyone will need to move up to the front few rows. You will each get a notecard where you will put your name, homeroom teacher, your favorite movie, and favorite club that you are in. If you do not have one, put a favorite activity. Then you will hand the notecard to the person on your left. Each person will then try to act out the person on his/her card's traits by doing a two-minute skit. We will be presenting next week. Try to sit by someone that you don't know..."

"Pst! Christina! Is this really happening to us?" I whisper.

"Yeah, _the_ Eric is our teacher."

'God' is the quarterback of the varsity football team, who is a favorite of Dr. Matthews. Eric won't be happy when he finds out that Four is trying out for the quarterback position too. Eric has zero social skills, but he used to date Cara, the cheerleader captain and head of the Erudite Club. She dumped him, and Eric was so mad. No one will go out with him. He has about 20 piercings on his face, and everyone else but him thinks they're so ugly. But Eric always gets his way, especially when he goes to Dr. Matthews who raves on and on about him. He probably didn't even have to convince her to let him do this.

I sigh. This _cannot_ be happening to me. Peter and Eric are best friends. If word gets out that Four beat up Peter, Eric will beat me up 'in honor of Peter.'

* * *

Public speaking drags on for 45 minutes. I stare at the clock for most of it, until Eric tells me to get off my lazy ass and start writing.

I have P.E. afterwards, along with Uriah and Christina. We do 10 pushups, before we start running.

"Who's our teacher this year?" I ask when we get there.

"Coach Amar," Uriah responds.

"Again?"

"Yup. I heard that he wants to scout out players for different teams."

I nod, "So are you playing football again?"

"Yeah. I want the outside linebacker. Zeke wants the wide receiver."

I nod, trying to hide my lack of football intelligence.

"Will's also doing football," Christina tells me.

"You three! Since you think that you need not listen, why don't you show the class how to do pushups correctly?" Coach Amar says, walking over to us. He points at Uriah, who gets down. "See class? This guy knows how to do them right! His knees bend perfectly so his body is like a plank!" Uriah grunts. _Dear coach Amar, must you yell always?! _

Then he points at me, "Miss Prior, why don't you sit on his back?" So I get down and sit on Uriah's back. He grunts and wheezes.

"You okay?" I whisper.

"Asthma." He responds.

I literally jump off his back. Uriah collapses.

"Miss Prior, you get back on this instant!" Coach Amar tells me.

"But coach, Uriah has asthma!"

He looks at Uriah, who is rolling on the ground and coughing.

"Christina, take him to the nurse's office. Everyone else start running!"

We all run, and by the time Christina is back, class is nearly over.

"What took you so long?"

"Uriah had to go slow. I feel bad for him. He really wants to get into varsity football, but he has bad asthma."

"So? He can be a replacement. Uriah always finds a way around things."

"Is that all you're gonna say?!"

"It's true. Uriah is dauntless. He won't let a petty thing like this take him over."

She shrugs, "I guess you're right."


	4. Chapter 4

Tris POV:

After school, I find Uriah. "Hey Uriah, you okay?"

He grunts and nods.

"I heard you fainted once you got to the nurse's office."

"Who told you that?"

"Christina. Who else?"

"Oh." he blushes.

"So...are you still gonna do football tryouts."

"I dunno. You think coach Amar will still like me after P.E. today?"

"Oh, come on. That was your first attack your whole time at this high school, plus you make varsity last year."

He shakes his head, "JV."

"well, you did practice a bunch over the summer."

He nods, "See ya around Tris."

"Bye Uriah, and good luck tomorrow."

He nods.

Then Four comes up to me.

"Hey, uh, Tris. You need a ride home?"

"No thanks. Oh, wait. Caleb has chess club, so yeah."

"Wanna come with me?"

I shrug. "Again, why are you always standing up for me or staring at me?"

He mimics me, "_Again_, I like you so come on." He kisses my cheek. I blush redder than a tomato.

We walk to his car.

"So...do you have a girlfriend from your previous school?"

He shakes his head.

"Why not? You must like someone else."

He shrugs, "Never wanted one."

'So why do you like me?" I immediately regret saying that, so I turn my head away.

I feel his eyes staring at me. After a while, he responds, "I like that you're unique, not caring about your appearance too much, or giving a crap about what others see in you."

I blush, and turn around. I kiss him on the lips, knocking him off his balance, so I wrap my arms around him. And he kisses me back. Hard. He wraps his arms around me and we snog for about 3 minutes.

"I think I might like you too."

"You think?" his eyes are practically out on stalks.

"Well, I've only known you for a day."

* * *

"Do you even know where my house is?!" I shout over the acceleration of the motorcycle.

"Yeah!"

"How?!"

"You of all people should know! Your dad works for mine!"

I remember now. Four has been to my house for a dinner party. My dad works on the city council, for Four's dad, Marcus Eaton the mayor.

The vroom dies down, as Four pulls up to my house.

"Thanks."

"And Tris?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go to homecoming with me?" he blurts out.

'It's in a month, silly."

"Yeah, but I want to claim you before someone else does."

I shrug, "Sure."

He grins, "We are technically now a couple, you know."

"I know."

I get my bag and kiss his cheek.

"Bye Tris! Have fun with the algebra homework!"

"What algebra homework?"

"I'm just kidding."

"Bye Four."

He blows me a kiss and I wave goodbye.

* * *

"Who was that?"

"Hello to you too, Caleb."

"I'm serious. Who was that?"

"Shouldn't you be at chess club?"

"Actually, it got out early."

"_Actually_, even if it did get out early, you and your annoying friends still talk about school for a while afterwards."

"Beatrice! Stop fooling around and answer the question!"

"Fine. It was Four."

"Marcus Eaton's son? The new kid? Why was he bringing you home?"

"And why do you care?" I mimic him.

"I am just trying to protect you. Plus, I hear that he has tons of scars on his back from getting beat up."

"Why do you even listen to gossip like that? I know you're smarter than that Caleb."

"Ju..just be careful Beatrice!" He goes into hiss room and slams the door.

I roll my eyes and take out my phone, which says that I have 6 new messages. 5 messages are from Christina, and one is from Susan:

_Tris, why were you kissing Four?_

Christina, were you stalking me? I thought that you had swimming practice afterschool.

_And why was he kissing you back?_

Seriously?!

_Why aren't you answering me?! It's been like 10 minutes!_

Hello! I had to get home first!

_By the way, what's the public speaking homework?_

It's due in a week. Don't sweat it.

_I really like Will. Any advice? He may like another girl, but I like him anyways. You seem to get on good with Four, so what's your strategy?_

This is the first time you've come to me with any problems like that...

_Hello, Beatrice. This is Susan. I'm terribly sorry if you do not recognize the number, but I can assure you that it's me. Do you have the notes for math? If so, can I borrow them?_

First off, you know not to come to me with problems like that, either.

I roll my eyes, and start my English reading assignment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tobias POV:**

I grin at one of Zeke's dumb jokes. He was just trying to impress the cheerleaders that were coming out of tryouts. And we were too. Coach Amar had his eye on me, so I'm feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, someone else did too. Eric, I think that's his name, was also trying to impress the cheerleaders, but ended up getting kicked out of football tryouts. He glared at me and blamed me, saying that I was causing a distraction by also trying out for quarterback.

"Bye Four!"

"Bye Zeke!"

I walk over to my Harley, but see Tris' brother Caleb, come right up to me.

"Four, is it?"

"Yes Caleb?"

"Beatrice couldn't think straight last night, on her homework and everything else. I have a feeling that you might know why."

"Oh do you now?"

"Yes I do. Now, will you please explain why?"

"Why wasn't she at school today?"

"She got sick. But stop avoiding the question, Four!"

I grin at him, "What question?"

'Goddammit Four! Why was Beatrice distracted last night?!"

"I don't know if this will help, or even if you should know this, but or your information, Tris and I are now a couple," I tell him stately, then get onto my motorcycle.

Caleb stands there, not moving. I start up the motorcycle. Then he blinks rapidly. As I'm driving away, I hear him yelling, "Wait a minute! You get back here! You are too old for Beatrice!" I roll my eyes and turn the corner to get home.

* * *

As soon as I get home, I try to sneak past my dad. Luckily I get up to my room, hearing him mutter about how I should be home by now. I smirk and pull out my phone to text Tris.

_Hey Tris, how are you? You weren't at school today._

It takes about 5 minutes for her to respond, but when she does, I literally jump off the bed, hearing the 'ding' from my phone.

_Fine. I just got a cough and headache. How was your tryout?_

I respond immediately,_ Great, though this one guy, Eric, got kicked out and blamed it on me._

_Eric? Eric Williams? _

_Yeah. Why?_

_I know that kid. He's so freakin annoying!_

_I know right? Will you be back at school tomorrow?_

_Hopefully. Why?_

_A bunch of annoying cheerleaders were hitting on me again, _I type, grumbling.

_Well that's a surprise_, I smirk at her sarcastic side that I have never seen before.

_Wait, how'd you get my number?_ she texts.

_Zeke gave it to me._

_Right. That's something he would do. _I smile.

Then Marcus pounds on the door. "Tobias? Are you home yet? Or is this my imagination?"

I duck in to the closet and pull my phone and backpack with me. I close the closet, breathing shakily.

Marcus opens the door and shuts the window. "Why'd he leave that open? I've taught him better!" he growls.

I suck in a breath and wipe sweat from my forehead. Marcus leaves, slamming the door. The last I hear of him is him mumbling to himself about me having tryouts and that I'd better get on varsity.

Once I see that the coast is clear, I dive onto my bed and start reading The Great Gatsby for English class and soon fall asleep.

* * *

Two hours later, I wake myself up after the 'ding' of a text.

_Yo bro, Uriah and my parents are out of town this weekend. Saturday night party at my house at 9. Be there at 7 to set up._

I roll my eyes at Zeke's bad grammar. And respond, _Cool bro_.

Then I realize something. If it's at Uriah and Zeke's house, Tris is invited. This summer, Zeke said that they went to grade school together and have been friends for a while. He never mentioned Caleb, but when I've been to the Prior's house for dinner parties, Caleb would converse with the adults and seem intelligent, while Tris would read a sports magazine or draw. This means that I have to go to the party, even if I don't usually socialize. For Tris. And that thought makes me smile.

* * *

Tris POV:

I wake up in the afternoon some time, groggy from a nap. I look to the clock and see it saying 4:32. That means that Caleb is home. But more importantly, on my bedside table is a Tylenol pill and a glass of water. I swallow the pill, hoping that my migraine will go away. Then I look on my phone for new messages. _1 new text message from Zeke F._, it reads. So I click on it.

_It says, Yo Tris. Uriah and my parents are out of town this weekend. Saturday night party at the house at 9. P.S. Four told me about your little get-together. If you two get any ideas, feel free to use Uriah's room upstairs. _

I roll my eyes at that last part. Then a text message from Christina pops up. _omg did u hear about Zeke's party on Saturday? r u going? u have 2. 4's invited so I will dress u up? but u have to tell me how u got him to like you, _it says. I smirk and try to fall back asleep.

* * *

I wake up to Caleb lightly knocking on the door. "Beatrice?" he pauses, "Time to eat. Come on out," he says, light enough for me to hear, but not to wake me if I'm asleep. Probably Mom's orders.

"Not hungry!" I shout back.

"Come on. You missed Health Class today," _Does it look like I give a crap?_ He continues, "Have you eaten anything today?"

"No."

"You need to eat."

I shrug and get out of bed, still in my pajamas.

Caleb talks to me on the way downstairs.

"I brought your homework home," he tells me.

"Thanks," I respond sarcastically.

Halfway down the stairs, he stops me, then pulls me back so mom and dad can't hear. But still, we whisper.

"Four told me that you and him are dating."

I shrug, "So? Does it really bother you that much?"

He takes a deep breath. I prepare for the work, forming my hand into a fist and pulling it back. Finally, he talks, "I'm just trying to look out for you, Beatrice." And with that, he walks downstairs.

"Just don't tell Father." I say to his back.

Caleb nods after a while, then continues, "Beatrice, we must think of our family. But we must also think of ourselves."

I nod slowly, not expecting that from goody-two-shoes Caleb. Then I follow him downstairs.

As soon as we walk into the dining room, our mom walks in, carrying a dish of steaming peas. "Oh, hello, Beatrice. Feeling any better?"

I nod, and sit down. Mom says hello to Caleb, excuses herself, and walks back into the kitchen to get chicken.

Then dad walks in the room, "Oh, good. You're up. How are you feeling Beatrice?"

I groan, not used to the attention. Then I look at Caleb, and his eyes tell me that it's okay to lie. For now.

I breathe in shakily, "Well, I didn't do so good on an English test that was given yesterday to see how much I already knew. Caleb gave me it along with my homework."

Father nods then sets the peas down on the table, smiling at us. "Well, that's okay. Caleb can tutor you. Natalie, are you coming?"

My mom walks into the room and nods. Then she sits down and holds her hands above the table, signaling us for prayer. Soon we dig in.


	6. Chapter 6

_The Next day..._

**Tris POV:**

Last night I couldn't sleep. My head hurt and Tylenol doesn't help much, I only take it to satisfy my mom. And I wouldn't complain, for that would be selfish of me.

I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing my parents talking.

"What's wrong? Tell me Andrew," my mother said softly.

"Jeanine Matthews' husband is running against Marcus in the upcoming election," my father replied. They were obviously trying to be quiet, but I could still hear both of them loud and clear. "Remember how I told you that Marcus and Jeanine used to do everything together?"

My mom nods then looks confused, "Well what stopped that?"

"National debt. It is higher than ever before, and taxes are higher. So when the stock market crashed, Jeanine and Marcus split up."

My mom nods, as if it is coming back to her now, "Ah, yes. But they still have close ties."

My dad nods.

I start coughing really rapidly all of a sudden. I hear the sound of my mom's feet traveling up the stairs, and she must have heard me. So I pick up my pillow and try to look asleep. It must not work, because my mom comes up to my room.

"Beatrice, are you asleep?" she asks, trying not to wake Caleb.

A cough slips out of the corner of my mouth.

My mom pushes the door open. "Beatrice?" she whispers.

"My head hurts," I mumble out.

"Oh, sweetheart," she rushes over to me and puts the back of her hand to my forehead, "You're burning up," she says breathily, then pulls me up. I walk out with her and I sit down in the dining room.

"Your dad must be asleep," she says, trying to start some conversation. She sifts through a kitchen cabinet, before saying, "Aha!" She walks over to me and holds out a. "Hold out your tongue," she commands. I do and she puts a dropper full of pinkish-brownish syrup onto my tongue. "Now go to bed, Beatrice," she says, then kisses my cheek. "Feel better."

I nod, "Thanks mom."

I head up to my room, and this time, I fall asleep peacefully, like a baby.


	7. Chapter 7

**Will POV:**

I wake up to Cara singing in the shower. Once I shut off my alarm and throw on some jeans, I see her full dressed, whistling, and curling her hair.

"And what are you so happy about today?" I ask her.

She pushes her glasses up and shouts, "I thought you'd never ask! I got the lead in this year's musical!"

I nod suspiciously. She's not usually like this. "And..."

"Isn't it great?! I'm so excited!"

I nod again.

"Hey, cheer up, Will," she pinches my cheek. I pull back, "How'd it go with that girl you like? What's her name? Tris? No. Chris? Yes. Christina."

My eyes open really wide when I hear her say this, and I run up to her, "Shut up, Cara. I don't know what you're talking about."

She finishes her hair and pushes me away, "You shut up. You know what? I'll give you some advice. You're going to that party right?"

I nod casually.

"Well, get her a drink and she'll kiss you. Or ask her to dance. Or, if you're real lucky, she'll say yes when you ask her to Homecoming." Cara walks out of the bathroom and shuts off the light.

"Who says I'm asking her to Homecoming? Who says I'll even go?"

Cara flips her hair and turns around, smiling, "Who says you won't?"

She walks away and I am left there, in the hallway speechless.

* * *

**Christina POV:**

I look down at the chicken and lettuce wrap in front of me. It will have to do. I'm already late for school as it is. Plus I need to get rid of the volcanic pimple on my forehead before Homecoming. Speaking of which, why has Will been ignoring me? I wonder if he will ask me to the dance...Then my eight year old sister's yelling snaps me back into reality.

"No! I don't wanna get up mamma!"

"Zoe, you'll be late for school! Now get up!"

"No! Tell them I'm sick! Then I can watch Looney Tunes all day!"

"No. Zoe, we will not lie to the good people at the school."

"But, mamma..."

I roll my eyes and stuff my binder and lunch into my backpack and yell 'bye mom and Zoe' before I start up my '97 silver Chrysler and head off to school.

* * *

**Tris POV:**

I wake up with a slight cold and roll over. The elderberry syrup that my mom gave me must've helped. Plus I need to go to school today. I missed too much schoolwork yesterday. So I force myself out of bed and put on black jeans and a grey sweatshirt. Then I go downstairs.

"Good morning Beatrice. How are you feeling?" my dad asks while reading the paper.

I shrug and put a granola bar, an apple, and a water bottle in my backpack.

My mom and Caleb are eating oatmeal and scrambled eggs. I find a plate and take some eggs off the stove then I sit down with them.

"And how are you Beatrice?" my mom asks.

"Fine," I say, a bit more dismissively than I'd hoped.

Then Caleb speaks up, "Well, we'd better get going. Today I find out if I've made Erudite."

I finish my eggs and we all stand up.

"Ah, that club you want to get into. Well good luck, Caleb. And feel better Beatrice," my mom kisses both of our heads. We put our plates in the sink, and I zip up my backpack. Then we leave for school.

* * *

Before classes, Four meets up with me.

"So...you going to Zeke's party?"

I nod.

"Great. See you there Tris."

I smile and he kisses me, blushing. Then he walks away, biting his lip.

I stand there, clutching my math books in a daze.

Will comes up to me, looking confused.

"Tris? Are you okay?"

Snap out of it Tris, "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine, thanks for asking. What can I do for you?"

Will crosses his arms and looks around the hall suspiciously. Then he leans in, takes a deep breath, and whispers, "I need to find a subtle way to ask Christina to Homecoming. I really like her and she must be crazy that I haven't asked her out yet, and-"

"Will! Stop it. Just go up and ask her tomorrow night at the party. Good crowd, not too big. She'll love it."

"Will she?"

"Yes. And give her flowers along with it."

"Yeah. Okay. And Tris?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime Will."

* * *

Afterschool, Christina takes me shopping. She insisted on going to TJ Maxx. Four kisses me on the way out of school, and this enrages the cheerleaders. Then Christina pulls me into her car and starts it up.

We turn the corner and head onto the highway.

"What's your secret?"

"What secret?" I'm confused.

"What secret?! How do you get Four to like you so fast? It's the third day of school! The news came out today! He's the varsity quarterback! He's the hottest, most wanted guy in all of Chicago Prep High School, and the only girl he'll look at is you!"

"I dunno. What do you want to know?"

Christina's face goes red and she looks straight at the road. "Will won't talk to me."

"So? Maybe he's planning something," I say, trying to hold back a grin.

Christina takes the next exit and pulls into TJ Maxx, "You think so?"

"I know so."

"Thanks girl."


	8. Chapter 8

**Christina POV:**

We walk into TJ Maxx and I look around. At the beauty. I see Tris looking at running shoes for Cross Country. I roll my eyes, and focus on myself. I want something subtle, yet bold. Something that says _Will Johnson, will you go to homecoming with me?! And I will not take no for an answer._, in a gentle and carefree way. Then I spot it. I run up to it, and snatch it before anyone else does. Then I walk up to Tris.

"You hoo! Come with me. I need to try on this dress. And we need to find one for you."

"I don't need a dress. It's a party at Zeke's house for crying out loud! He's the king of laziness."

"Well, then you need a new top. Or at least change your style. You _do_ have a boyfriend now."

Tris groans and stands up, "Well, how about these shoes?" she pints down to her feet, smiling.

"Please! Spare me the gray," I respond.

"Fine. But I am getting these." She takes them off and puts back on her old shoes.

* * *

**Tris POV:**

"How about this one?" Christina holds up yet another revealing dress.

"No," I state blankly.

She puts the dress back onto the rack and throws up her arms, "Come on Tris! We've been here for an hour!"

"Yeah, and can't we just go home?"

"No, you do have a top picked out, but you still need a dress for Homecoming."

I groan and hold up a black dress that actually looks cool, "How bout this one?"

"Wow Tris. That actually looks good."

* * *

I get home an hour later, my eyes droopy. I set my begs down and my mom sees me and rushes over.

"Beatrice! What happened? Are you okay?"

I nod and mumble that I want a nap. My mom nods and walks off to heat up an eye pillow for me.

I walk up the stairs drowsily, and crack open my bedroom door, but Caleb stops me.

"Heard that your big shot boyfriend made varsity."

"Caleb, I'm really not in the mood."

He rushes over to me and says, "Beatrice are you okay? Boy you do look like you need a nap."

I nod and push the door open fully. This time he lets me.

* * *

I wake up the next morning, fully rejuvenated. I slip on my new tennis shoes and go for a run, sneaking out the door. I break into a sprint and think about joining the Cross Country team. My dad knows the coach, and tryouts aren't for another week so I have a pretty good shot at getting in.

I jog for about half a mile, listening to Flyleaf. Then my cell phone rings. I shut off Flyleaf.

"Hey, Christina."

"Hey! You up already? You? On a Saturday?"

"Gosh, it's 8 am. It's not _that_ early."

"Fine," she huffs, then brightens her voice, "So how do you like your dress?"

"To be honest, I haven't even looked at it since we went shopping."

"Dang. You didn't even resist the urge to?"

I shrug, "Not really."

"Dang. You're good. Don't forget to come to my place at 7."

"Fine."

"Bye Tris!"

I hang up and continue running, then put Flyleaf back on, and turn the corner to Warren Park. Just as I am finishing my first lap, I bump into a familiar face.

"If it isn't Tris. Where's Four? What kind of boyfriend is he when his damsel is in distress?" says Peter. Drew, and more surprisingly, Al, are next to him.

"What are you talking about?" My face (mostly eyebrows)crinkles, as it does when I'm confused.

Peter pulls his fist back, "All I'm saying is that you better watch out."

I smirk, "Did Eric send you?"

"That's none of your business," he says with a sneer.

I mumble 'coward.' And that's when they charge. Al puts a burlap sack over my head, while someone else, Drew, I think, twists my leg in a funky position. I hold back tears as someone else pulls up my shirt and _touches_ me. Then I scream. No one can stop me now. Unless, of course, they choke me.

* * *

Four POV:

I'm going for another morning jog, or more realistically, getting away from my father as possible run, when I hear a blood-piercing scream. So I decide to check it out. _Nice move, Tobias..._

Then I see a girl, with a body like Tris' fighting back at three boys. Three boys, that hang out with Eric. Three boys, that bully Tris. Except, one hangs out with her. Interesting. Then I realize that they don't just look like them, they are them.

Without thinking, I run up to Tris. God help her. I fight off the boys, them saying that it was an accident and a misunderstanding the whole time._ To hell it was..._I think as I wrap Tris' arm around mine and drag her home.


	9. Chapter 9

Tobias POV:

Luckily, once I get home with Tris, Marcus is gone. I try to make her comfortable so I carry her up to my room. I set her on my bed, and look at her wounds: bruises that are forming around her neck and chin, her shirt is ripped and her knees are bloody. But Tris is still as beautiful as ever. She falls asleep almost instantly, or so I think. I tiptoe out of the room and about to shut the door when I hear her speak.

"Four," she croaks.

"Please don't call me that."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Think about it for a minute," I say, my voice almost a whisper as I turn around and go downstairs.

I get a bottle of aspirin, a glass of water, and some corn flakes. Then I see a note that Marcus left me.

_Tobias,_

_Don't forget to wash the bathrooms and mow the lawn. _

_Also: be back by midnight tonight. I want a good reputation. Make sure that no one has to call the cops._

It's in his scribbly-neatish handwriting. I groan and walk upstairs.

"Tobias."

"Yeah Tris?"

"That's your real name."

I nod and set the stuff down.

"Sit up," I tell her, then slip an aspirin into her mouth and wash it down with water. She stays un-drowsy, so I try to make conversation, "How'd you know my name?"

She shrugs, "My dad works for yours."

I smile. _Well, duh._ I've been over to the Prior's house a few times. Then after my mom "died," I stopped going.

Then Tris' phone rings. She takes it out of her pocket and curses. "It's Caleb. I'd better get this."

I nod and walk out of the room. I slunk against the wall and overhear some conversation:

"What's up Caleb?" she says blandly..."What do you want to know?...Okay, I went for a jog and now I'm at Christina's...Fine. Don't worry about me! Bye!" I hear her phone end it's call and I walk inside.

"Everything okay?"

She puts on a fake smile, "Of course, Four."

I sit down next to her on my bed, "I have a feeling that everything's not okay. And don't call me Four."

Tris takes a deep breath, "I hate having an older-protective sibling."

I put my hand in hers and squeeze it. Tris lays her head on my shoulder and smiles. I kiss the top of her head, and we stay like this for ages.

* * *

**Christina POV:**

Where is Tris?! It's seven! She should be here by now!

Then the doorbell rings.

Thankfully, Tris walks in. I wipe sweat off my forehead and greet her.

"Hey, Christina." I look at her, and one thing is wrong. She's covered in bruises.

"Tris! What happened? Don't worry, I makeup to cover it!"

She smiles and we go to my room.

"Well, right after you hung up, some people beat me up."

"Who?!"

"Peter, Al," she gulps. I nod, "and Al."

"Really? Are you sure it was him? Like, maybe it only looked like him."

Tris shakes her head, "It was him all right."

"Oh, Tris," I hug her.

"Christina! Dinner's ready if you and Tris are hungry!" my mom calls from downstairs.

I look back to Tris, "Are you hungry?"

She shrugs._ I_ am. So I go downstairs and get two plates and two cokes.

"Can I take these upstairs?"

"Course honey. Just remember no spills on the carpet," my mom responds. I nod and walk upstairs, hearing Zoe ask mom the same question.

"No, Zoe."

"But mom! Christina got to!"

"She has a guest. Tel you what, I'll let you eat dinner in front of the television."

"Yay!"

I roll my eyes and make my way up the last step, then prop open my bedroom door with my foot. Tris sees me and smiles.

"Hey. You want some chicken? My mom made it herself."

Tris usually loves my mom's chicken, but this time she shrugs.

"You need to eat," I say for her.

She nods and we sit down on my bed.

"You look vulnerable," I say after a while.

"Four told me to," she mumbles quietly.

I nod and we finish eating.

* * *

Stop flinching Tris!"

"It's not my fault! That contraption makes me twitch!" Tris squeaks.

"Okay. Just let me pluck one more eyebrow. Then you're done...for now."

"What?!"

"Tris, my sister is asleep!"

She folds her arms together and I finish plucking her eyebrows. Then I put some eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, lip liner, mascara, and blush on her and tell her to go get ready.

Tris comes out five minutes later. She wears black leather boot, skintight jeans, a dark-indigo blouse, and smoky makeup. It's a shame that only some of her bruises are hidden. I finish my makeup and put on my little black dress and flats. Next we do our hair I give Tris' hair a bun-maker and her golden hair is soon swept up into a bun. I put mine in a mini waterfall braid style. Then we leave.


	10. Chapter 10

**Four POV:**

Zeke, Uriah, and I finish setting up for the party, right at nine. Perfectly on time. Nothing could be better right now.

"So who all did you invite?" I ask Zeke while waiting for others to show up.

"Those who made the football team, Shauna, Lynn, Marlene, Will, Christina, and Tris. Oh, and Al."

"Al?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" he asks.

I shrug, not wanting to tell him what happened this morning yet and he takes that as a 'no.'

Then Tris and Christina walk through the door. Stunning. Then Tris walks over to me.

"Stop drooling," she says, a smile spreading across her face.

"Can't help it," I say grinning from ear to ear.

Then we go sit down on the couch. Tris sits on top of my lap. I rub her back and she relaxes.

After a while, everyone arrives.

"I'm gonna go get drinks for us," I say after a while.

Tris nods and gets off my lap. She stands around awkwardly as I go get drinks.

I just enter the kitchen when Lia stops me.

"Where's your girlfriend? Oh, wait. She's so puny she'll fit in your pocket."

"Stop it Lia."

"Why? You're the quarterback and I'm a cheerleader. We'd go perfect together."

"Our personalities wouldn't."

"Stop it four. I'm meant for you and you're meant for me and we both know it," then she lunges for my lips. I shove her off and punch her lips. They swell up almost immediately.

"Stay away from me if you know what's good for you," I tell her bitterly then walk off to get some drinks.

* * *

'You want a beer Tris?" I ask her.

"Are you joking? I don't drink." she responds.

Then I go get her a Sprite.

When I get back, I see Tris staring off into space.

"A penny for your thoughts," I tell her.

She shrugs. Then after a while she responds, "It, just, I don't know. It doesn't make sense why you would like me. Lia seemed perfectly happy with you. Why not go for her? She's a cheerleader with a perfect body."

"Wait, you saw that?"

She nods, "You were gone for so long that I started wondering."

I gulp, "I told you, I don't care for what she looks like. Or anything about her. I like your personality," and with that, I kiss her.

She smiles and looks at Will and Christina who are snogging off in the distance.

"They're getting on well," Tris says.

I nod and kiss Tris again. This time she wraps her arms around my neck to deepen the kiss.

Then Zeke burps really loudly, causing everyone to stop what they're doing. And I'm talking coyote yell loud. I bet his neighbors heard that...

"Whoa. That got your attention, didn't it?" he says while laughing, "Well, my good buddies, I think that it's high time we turn on the karaoke!"

A few people shout out 'yes' and 'good idea,' but most people go back to doing what they were doing before. Then Uriah wolf whistles exceptionally loud. Everyone quiets, as Zeke turns on the karaoke. Zeke starts everyone off by singing 'We are Young' really badly.

Everyone boos halfway through and Uriah steps up to the spot.

"I'll show you how to do it, big brother," he says, taunting Zeke.

Zeke's face became really red as he was the laughing stock of everyone, but apparently he was more interested in entertaining his guests than beating the crap out of Uriah, so he laughed along with everyone.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom," I tell Tris.

She tugs on my polo shirt.

"Yes?"

"Please don't leave me here alone," she says. I glance to my left and Al is there, like closer to her than socially acceptable.

I nod. Tris drains her Sprite and we walk upstairs hand in hand.

Tris waits outside for me. When I'm done, we go down the stairs, hand in hand.

"So...do you want to talk about what happened this morning?" I say to break the silence.

Tris coughs and shakes her head, "Not now. Let's enjoy the party, okay? But thanks for taking care of me."

I smile, "Well, you're my girlfriend."

She grins back, "Well, aren't you the gentleman today? Pretty soon, you're gonna get sick of me, if we see each other so much."

"Somehow, I don't think so."

I wrap my arm around her small frame and we go back to the party.

* * *

By the time we get back to Zeke and Uriah's living room, Zeke and Uriah have everyone on the ground, especially their girlfriends, laughing.

Tris and I sit down next to each other on the couch and soon start laughing. Within a few minutes, Tris' head is rested on my shoulder. Her hand is on my knee, with the fingers spread out. I put my hand over her's and our fingers are intertwined. Tris smiles at me. Someone next to us coughs.

Tris looks over her shoulder, "What do you want Al?"

"How did you know it was me?" he asks, clearly confused.

"I saw your face, and heard your voice. I'm not stupid," Tris speaks to him like a five year old.

"So...will you forgive me?"

"No. Never speak to me again," Tris says coldly.

Al stands up and walks out, mumbling to himself.

Tris looks at me innocently.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," I say.

Tris smiles at that and we go back to watching people try their hand at karaoke.


	11. Chapter 11

**Tris POV:**

After the party, Four and I walk back home hand in hand. He's going to drop me off, and after what happened this morning, I don't go the back way, near the alley. It's a bit of a shortcut, but once we get there, I immediately wish that we had taken the long route.

Peter walks up with Eric, Drew and Al. Four and I turn around, but then Eric speaks.

"I believe that we have some unfinished business to take care of," he says, then takes a puff of his cigarette and slicks back his extra greasy hair.

Four sighs, "Is this because you got cut from varsity in your senior year? I told you, and everyone saw, I had nothing to do with that."

"I don't suppose that that's the case. Mrs. Matthews told us that your father is running for mayor. You see her husband is also," snarls Peter, "And you see, being allies and all, that won't make for very good competition."

Four puts his hands up in mock defense and laughs under his breath, "Believe you me, I stay out of my father's way as _much_ as possible."

"Gentlemen, I think it's high time, don't you?" starts Eric. The others, except for Al, I notice, grumble and charge in response.

Peter pins me against the wall and kicks my privies. My head lurches forward and he punches me cheek to make my head fall back. I swallow a scream and look to Four, who's being held back by Drew.

"Make him watch," commands Peter, "He needs to see the Stiff suffer." The others nod and grumble in response.

Then Eric walks over and slaps both of us. Four's anger takes over as he knees Drew in the balls and swings his leg in a roundhouse kick to Eric's temple. They both collapse almost instantly. Peter lets go of his chokehold on my throat, and swings his leg at Four in a poor attempt at a kick. Four catches his leg and twists it in the opposite direction, causing a popping sound and a teary eyed Peter to fall down. I see Al look at Four, then clumsily run around broken glass bottles that were left in the alley before running away.

"Four," I croak out from the ground.

He runs over to me and picks me up. My head is against his chest and the last two things I hear are Four's heartbeat and him mumbling about how come stuff like this always happens to him, before my world goes hollow.

* * *

I wake up to running water in a familiar room. I try to sit up, but a bruise near my ribs tells me that it's a bad idea. I slowly sit back unto an extra bouncy bed.

"Ah, good. You're up."

"Four?"

"Yes, Tris? You hungry, or something?"

I shake my head. "What happened last night?"

He smirks, "'If I told you that, I'd have to kill you.'" I smile. It's a quote from one of his favorite movies that we watched the previous day, _Casino Royale._ Four's smile goes away. This is not a good sign. After a while, he speaks, "Well after the party, we walked home. But we ran into Eric, Al, Peter, and Drew, who apparently had some 'unfinished business.'" I cringe. He uses air quotes on the last part and slips off his slippers. Then he walks over to me.

I scoot over, and we lay on the bed for a while.

Four's voice breaks the silence first, "Well, I'm gonna go make some chocolate-chip pancakes. Marcus is already gone, so we're free until around three-ish," He sees my smile and laughs, "I thought that you weren't hungry."

I blush and shrug.

"I'll make extras," he says before leaving. I smile to myself.

20 minutes later, Four walks back in carrying two plates and two glasses. He kisses my head and hands me a plate with two chocolate-chip pancakes and strawberries covering them and a glass of orange juice. He tucks my hair behind my ear, causing me to smile. I immediately dig in and he smiles.

"How are you?" he asks, before wolfing down four pancakes that were on his plate.

I shrug, "My ribs and head hurt when I breathe."

He smiles a little, "Not much I can do about that."

"Well, I do know a few people that would throw a party if I stopped breathing."

"I can tell you this much. I would only go if there was cake." He pats my knee.

"Like the chocolate cake at the cafeteria?"

Four smiles and takes our plates, "_Only_ if it was that kind."

* * *

"You wanna watch another movie?" Four says, a while after he gets back from doing the dishes.

I shrug, "Sure. Which one?"

"You pick."

"Uh, I dunno. The Breakfast Club?"

He nods and puts it on.

"I like this one," Four says, as the credits roll on.

I nod. He walks up to the bed and sits next to me, putting his arm around me. I smile and lay my head on his shoulder, breathing in his masculine scent.

We get to the lunch scene and at this point Four and I are sneaking glances at each other.

John Bender: What're we having?

Brian Johnson: Uh, it's your standard, regular lunch I guess...

[Bender reaches in the bag and pulls out a thermos. He sets it on the table and points at it]

John Bender: Milk?

Brian Johnson: Soup.

[Bender goes in again and pulls out a juice box. Brian reaches toward the bag and Bender slaps his hand]

Brian Johnson: That's apple juice...

John Bender: I can read! PB & J with the crusts cut off... Well Brian, this is a very nutritious lunch, all the food groups are represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rogers?

By now, Four and I are fully making out. His arm travels up my shirt and I lurch back in shock.

"Oh my God Tris! Did I hurt you?" his eyes go wide.

I shake my head and point to my ribs, teardrops forming in my eyes.

He keeps apologizing for a while and by now, the movie is over.

"I, uh, think that there are some spare crutches in, uh, the garage." With that, he runs down the stairs. I hear him trip down the last step and yell 'I'm okay!' I smirk. _Ah, Four_...

Four runs back up the steps a few minutes later with crutches. He tries to adjust them to my height but ends up swearing at them.

I laugh, "It's fine. I can walk."

"You sure?" he looks at me like I'm an alien.

I nod and he mutters 'Thank God,' before kissing me, lightly this time.

When we break apart, I hear a car pull into the driveway.

"Uh, Four. You might want to look outside the window."

He looks at it, then looks back to me, "It's Marcus."

"Damn," we say at the same time.

Then we hear the front door creak open and a voice say, "Tobias?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Four POV: **

"Tobias?...Are you home?" Marcus calls from downstairs.

"Damn," Tris and I say quietly at the same time again. I kiss her cheek and pick her up.

"What are you doing?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hiding you in my closet," I whisper back. Tris smiles curtly, and I smile back. I kick open my closet door and lay her down. Luckily, Tris is small enough to barely lay down fully.

"I'll get you a pillow," I say then grab the one that her head was previously on. I tuck it under her head and Tris smiles.

"Thanks." I nod and go downstairs. Marcus sees me right away.

"Oh, there you are. Where have you been?" Marcus says, enunciating every word.

"Sorry. I didn't hear you at first. I was trying to right a song for Zeke's, Uriah's, and my new band."

Marcus nods slowly, then accepts it, "Okay. But next time, you answer when I call your name."

I nod and go back up the first few steps before he stops me. "Tobias? One more thing. Get back here."

I huff and stand next to him.

"Tobias, I am running for mayor again this year. Please try to do good at school. Think how good it would be if the mayor's son brought his football team to state!" Marcus clears his throat, "You may go now."

I nod and go up the stairs, back to Tris.

I swing open the closet door to find Tris pressed against the wall, listening for something.

"What are you doing?"

Tris' head whips around. 'Nothing...I was right! Your name is Tobias!"

I nod, and see her try to sit up and wince.

I chuckle and help her up. Tris groans then smiles at me.

"Don't mention it."

She laugh at this, then her expression stiffens, "So how do I get out of here without your dad noticing?"

"Easy. You'll be in my laundry hamper and since the laundry room is in the garage, I'll take you out from there."

Tris nods, and then her eyes grow huge, "In your dirty clothes?"

I shake my head. "I'll wrap you up in a clean towel."

I help her get up and we smile together. I lift her into my hamper and find a towel large enough to drape over her. Then I lift it up.

"On three?"

I see Tris' head nod through the towel.

"One...two...three," I lift the hamper up and push the door open with my foot. Now for going down the stairs...

* * *

"What are you doing?"

I whip my head around to see Marcus.

"Uh...what does it look like? I'm finally doing my laundry like you asked."

Marcus nods and I carry on. Once I get into the laundry room and shut the door. I help her stand up. Tris winces and mouths 'thank-you.'

"Crap. Your sweater," I say, once we are outside. Tris is shivering and so I put her back in the garage for a minute.

I run up the steps, carrying my hamper. I shove it back in my room and grab Tris' sweater. I run down the stairs, jumping off of the third-to-last step.

"Marcus, I'm taking your car."

He turns around, "And why is that?"

"Favor. For a friend."

He glances at his watch for a minute and nods, "Okay, but be back by five. We're having dinner at the Prior's."

I nod, grab his keys, and run into the garage, hearing Marcus shout, "Don't scratch my car!"

I roll my eyes, and open his BMW, laying Tris into the backseat. I kiss her forehead and hop in the driver's seat. I turn on the car and pull out of the driveway.

* * *

"Tris? We're here," I tell her, then look into my rear-view mirror to see her asleep. I smile, then park the car in front of the Prior's driveway.

"F-four?"

I look back, "Yeah?"

"What do we do now? My parents cannot see me like this. There is supposed to be a dinner party for the city council tonight."

I nod; Marcus told me.

"I'll sneak you in, okay?"

Tris looks at me funny, "Caleb will notice. Okay? Let's just go in. My mom won't mind, although if she sees me, she'll ask what happened."

I huff, "Fine."

* * *

A minute later, my arm is wrapped around Tris' shoulder and her arm is around mine. When we get to her door, her other arm fumbles around inside her pocket for a minute before she pulls out a set of keys, and puts one in the keyhole. It opens and we walk in.

"Andrew, what time is Beatrice coming home? She's supposed to help me with that pot roast," Mrs. Prior says from the kitchen.

Tris sighs and we sneak past her mother, up the stairs. We get to the top, when Caleb's head pops through his door.

"I thought I heard something," he mumbles to himself, before speaking up and clearing his throat. He looks from Tris to me, "Beatrice, what took you so long? And why are you with him?"

Tris looks at me and whispers, "Let's go."

I nod and help her hop to her room.

We sit down on her bed.

"You're gonna have to face the music sometime, you know."

She sighs, "I know."

"Well...if we are gonna be a couple, why don't we get to know each other?"

Tris nods, "You go first."

"Okay, um, well, my favorite color is jet black."

"Are there different colors for black? 'Cause to me, black is just black."

I shrug.

"Okay, well my favorite color is midnight blue. Favorite subject?"

"Lunch."

She giggles. Cutely, I might add, "P.E. or public speaking. Except Eric's my teacher so that might be my worst."

"Okay, um, favorite animal?"

"Um, fox cub. You?"

"Dog."

"Uh, favorite Skittles flavor?"

I laugh, "Red."

"Strawberry? Lemon's mine."

I smile and she smiles back.

"Favorite band?"

"All Time Low or Flyleaf."

"My own."

"Your own?"

"Yeah, Zeke, Uriah, and I have a band."

"Cool. What's it called?"

"Actually, we don't have a name yet."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Want to name it? The guys will kill me if I told them it was you, but they have been thinking about getting a name."

"Sure. How about...the Next Direction?"

I glare at her and she laughs, with her eyebrows crinkling.

"Okay! No! Well then, what's the name for people that like adrenaline, like they jump off of trains and stuff?"

"You mean 'dauntless'?"

"Yeah. The Dauntless, um, Dauntless Nation?"

"I like it."

"You do?"

"Yeah, we were all thinking about getting tattoos and stuff. Dauntless stuff. This is perfect. I'll tell them tomorrow."

Tris smiles and hugs me. I am surprised at first, but then melt into her love and hug her back, smiling.


	13. Chapter 13

**Tris POV:**

"So. Dauntless Nation's citizen, what shall we do now?" Four asks, a while after we pull back from hugging.

I shrug. "Do we have any homework?"

"Just a bit. We have to read to page 120 in English."

I nod. All of a sudden there's a knock on the door. I'm still hurting, and Four notices, so he goes up to get it.

"Oh. It's _you_. Listen, tell Beatrice that mom wants her-" starts Caleb.

"It's Tris!" I stand up and yell back at him.

Caleb rolls his eyes and continues, "Is she in here even?"

Four nods and Caleb steps in, "Mom wants you downstairs in a few minutes to set the table. She finished the pot roast and now wants us to also put a salad together."

"So I guess I'll see you in an hour? My dad's invited," Four says, as if we didn't know.

"Duh, he's the mayor," Caleb mutters.

"Caleb!" I yell.

"Yes Beatrice?"

"Don't talk to my boyfriend like that!"

Then Four kisses my cheek and walks out, not wanting to say here if we're gonna fight.

"Bye Four!" I call after him. He turns and flashes me a smile before walking down the stairs.

"Now, Beatrice, are you going to tell me where you were?"

I sit back down and fold my legs up to my chest, forming a ball. Then I sigh, "It's no big deal. I got in a fight with someone and Four took me in and then there was that party and afterwards, Eric, Peter, Drew, and um, Al beat us up."

Caleb looks at me for a second before crossing over to me. "Beatrice," he whispers, then goes up to touch my cheek, where my bruise is turning purple. I push his hand away and wipe a falling cheek from my other cheek.

"I'm okay, you know," I tell him.

Caleb rolls his eyes, "Has mom seen this yet?"

"No. Four and I snuck in. Besides, you normally don't give a rip about me. Why this year?"

"Strange things can happen in high school. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I can do it myself!"

"Apparently not as well as you would think. Look, mom needs to see. Either go downstairs or I will bring mom up here."

"You wouldn't!"

"Yes I would. Now get some rest," Caleb says before closing the door.

So I reluctantly close my eyes, to find myself asleep once my head hits the pillow.

* * *

"Beatrice? Can I come in?"

My mother's soft voice wakes me up.

"Yes!" I yell back. My mother pushes the door open to see me and walks up to my bed.

"Sweetheart," she breathes.

"I'm okay," my voice says, suddenly dry.

Mom looks at me like I'm an alien. She can tell I'm lying. She tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Caleb, go get an ice pack," she orders softly.

A minute later Caleb returns. He gives me a guilty smile and I look away.

"Beatrice, Caleb is going to take you to Doctor Williams' office."

"Mom, I'm really okay," I try.

But she shakes her head, "No, you're not Beatrice. Can you walk? Or do you need crutches?"

"I can walk mom."

But as soon as she sees me limping across the room, she shakes her head again, "Caleb, would you be a dear and get the crutches out of the garage?"

Caleb nods and leaves the room.

"Mom. I told you. I can walk perfectly. What else could be wrong with me?"

"Beatrice, all I want to do is make sure that you're safe. Okay?"

I nod my head guiltily.

Caleb comes back a minute later, with the crutches set to the right height. I try them out and _do_ walk better with them. We walk downstairs together and Caleb opens the door and gets my jacket. He opens the car door and closes it for me once I am inside.

I fold my arms across my chest and stare out the window. Caleb sees me and touches my shoulder.

"Beatrice? Are you alright?"

I take a deep breath, but do not look at him, "Why is it so easy for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Why are you the good selfless child, without ever trying?"

He shrugs, and then turns the car on. "I just what I think dad would do."

"That's it? That's way too crazy. Like, say he makes a bad decision. Then what would you do?"

"Dad wouldn't do that. He's on the city council board."

I nod, feeling bad about what I said about dad. So I stare out the window. By now, we are close to the hospital, so Caleb pulls into the parking lot. He helps me get out and we walk (he walks, I hobble) into the main office.

* * *

"Hello. Beatrice Prior is in need of a check-up. Does Doctor Williams have anytime available today?" Caleb says to the receptionist.

The receptionist pushes his glasses up, "Unfortunately, no. Wait, let me check. Wow. Actually yes. In about 15 minutes he has a 45 minute slot available."

"Oh. Good. Well we'll sit down then, I guess," Caleb says, directing me to the lobby's plush chairs.

A few minutes later, we hear voices:

"Okay. How many of these should I take a day, Doctor Williams?"

"Two every eight hours. I suggest swallowing them with food."

"Thank you doctor."

"You're welcome, Rolanda."

Rolando steps out, and Cara ushers for Caleb and me to follow her into Doctor Williams' office.

"Wait, you work here Cara?"

She flips her hair, "Yeah, I had to do some community service and have always been interested in becoming a doctor. Do I know you? Oh, right, you're Will's friend Tris."

I nod, "And this is my brother Caleb."

"Hey, I know you."

Caleb is confused, "From where?"

"The Erudite club silly. I'm the club president. Good job by the way; you made it in and it's not very easy to."

A smile spreads across Caleb's face, as we make our way into Doctor Willaims' office.

"Well, Doctor Williams should be seeing you within a few minutes," Cara says before pushing her glasses up and leaving.

Caleb stares at her while she leaves. I push his arm playfully.

"Yes Beatrice?"

"You like her."

"What? No. She is pretty, but I like someone else."

"Who?"

"Guess."

"I dunno, Susan?"

Caleb's jaw drops, "How'd you guess?"

"She likes you. Ask her out."

Then the door pushes open. "Hello, I hope I am not interrupting anything."

Caleb and I shake our heads, "No, Doctor Williams."

"Ah, good. Well hello Beatrice and Caleb. Haven't seen you here for a while. And that's a good sign," Doctor Williams laughs, "Well, Beatrice, let's have a look at you, shall we?"

I nod, and gulp and Caleb and Doctor Williams leave so I can change into a hospital gown.


	14. Chapter 14

**Four POV:**

Once I get back home, I actually do work on writing music for our band. Then Marcus calls my name and I comb my hair and put on a sweater and a better pair of jeans. Marcus tosses me the keys and I drive us to the Prior's house. The whole way there, Marcus is criticizing me on how my driving skills still need work. I roll my eyes and pull up, excelling in parallel parking. We get out and I hand Marcus the keys. He snatches them out of my hands and thanks me.

Caleb greets us once we get to the door. He gives me the evil eye and asks Marcus how his campaign is going. I go past them and walk up to Tris. Her leg is popped up on a chair and a pair of crutches stand off to the side. I smirk.

She hits my arm, "Shut up. Fine. Yes, you were right and blah blah blah."

"Yes. Yes I was."

"Gee, aren't you a little show off?"

I smile, "Yup. It's in the boyfriend description."

"Boyfriend? Who's boyfriend?" A voice behind me says.

I turn around, "Oh, hello, Mr. Prior. How are you?"

"Fine. And you?"

"Great, thank you for asking. Now, why are you talking to Beatrice and mentioning boyfriend?"

Tris butts in, "Dad, we're dating, okay? Don't you have someone else to talk to?"

Mr. Prior looks me up and down then promptly turns around and walks into the kitchen, presumably to help Mrs. Prior with hors d'oeuvres.

I turn back to Tris and smile. She smiles back guiltily. I sit down next to her and place my hand in hers.

"So...now what?"

She smiles, "Um, okay. What's your favorite, hm, how about flower?"

I nod confused, "Okay. Well I don't know. Daisy?"

Tris smirks, "Well mine's a sunflower."

I nod, "Okay. Well, do you want anything to eat?"

Tris shrugs. I get up and get a small mountain of mini meatballs for us. When I return to Tris, there is a sight that I don't expect to see. I turn around and pick up a fork from the kitchen. Then I return, thinking _Why would he do that?_

* * *

**Tris POV:**

Four leaves, to get some food I guess. So I sit there thinking about the party last night. Some people, who I didn't know, but I guess Zeke knew were there. Like, I didn't know who Edward is. Now, as I am thinking about him, the strangest thing happens.

Edward walks up to me. I think he is talking about our parents both being on the city council or something. I have no idea. I am not paying attention. But out of the corner of my eye I see Four walk up and then turn around. Then he comes back with a fork. He uses the back of it to shove Edward out of the way, and then sits down next to me.

Edward rolls his eyes and get up, "Nice to meet you too, Four," he tells Four, before sticking his hand out. Four shakes it and they look at each other for a second before Edward walks off.

Four looks at me for a minute, then blinks and scoffs down about 6 meatballs.

"I'm pretty sure you set a world record for how many of those you can eat in a minute," I tell him, before picking up one and eating it slowly.

Four smirks, "I'm glad you took one."

"Why?" I feel my eyebrows crinkle in confusion.

"Because I can taste the garlic in these and so it would be really awkward when we make out later if only one of us has bad breath."

I nod. This is both disturbing and breathtakingly romantic. So I kiss his cheek. Four sets his plate down and we kiss in the corner of my living room for a few minutes.

When we finally break apart, Four asks about Homecoming. He sees my confused look, so explains.

"You know. It's in two weeks, so I was wondering what you wanted to do for it. Like go out to dinner or get an outfit or something."

I nod, unsure of what to say. I mean, I've never been to a dance except that one in 8th grade where I wore my lucky jeans and danced with Robert. We kissed for half of a minute and a parent broke it up.

Four speaks for me, "There's a really nice steak house in the middle of town."

I nod, and he keeps talking, but I stop listening.

* * *

A few hours later, Four and I kiss goodbye and a few people look at us. Four rolls his eyes and grabs his and his dad's coat and walk out.

"Beatrice? Can I speak with you privately?"

"Huh? Oh, sure dad," I say, unsure of this. So I get up on my crutches and follow him to the foyer.

"Beatrice, if I may ask, what went on with you and Tobias?"

"Um, nothing."

"It sure didn't look like nothing."

"Dad! I _said_, he's my boyfriend."

"I don't like the sound of that. Besides which, your math teacher emailed me."

"Who? Mr. Adams?"

"Yes, I think it was. Beatrice, if you do not pass the next chapter quiz, he might fail you. I am going to have you tutored."

"Dad! We're only a few weeks into the school year! How is this possible?"

'I have no idea. But I trust your teachers to have this information right."

I huff, "I can work on it on my own."

He shakes his head, "Beatrice, unless you get a tutor, stop going out with that boy. I might even have to take your phone. Whatever it takes you to pass that class."

"Is that all you care about now? My grades?"

"It goes on your permanent record. I want you to lead the best possible life."

"I don't need grades! I'll just work in a tattoo shop or be the lead singer in a band or something!"

"No, you will not. My daughter will not have that kind of life! Beatrice, give my your phone and go up to your room."

I scoff, and read the front, before handing it over. 'One new text from Al,' it says, 'Tris, sorry about last night, will u 4give me? see u-"

Before I get to the end of it, my dad clears his throat. I reluctantly hand over the phone and slowly go up the stairs to my room.


	15. Chapter 15

**Tris POV:**

I wake up to the sound of my alarm and throw my pillow at it. To my surprise, it stops beeping almost immediately. I lug myself up and wipe tears off my face from last night. Then I use my crutches to stabilize me as I dress. Then I reach for my phone, but pull my hand off my dresser and into my pocket when I remember that my dad has it.

I start pulling my backpack and hobbling out of my room, when Caleb comes out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in hand and asks what he can do to help.

"Get my phone back for me," I respond, almost annoyed.

Caleb puts his toothbrush back in his mouth and shakes his head and picks up my backpack, carrying it down the stairs for me. I roll my eyes at his naturally selfless self. Then I focus on not missing a step while going down the stairs.

"Thanks, Caleb," I say, once I see my parents in the room.

"Sure," he responds, then scurries off to rinse his toothbrush.

Then my dad turns to me, "Beatrice, I realize that I was a bit hard on you last night."

I mumble, "You can say that again."

"Excuse me?"

"What? Oh, nothing..."

"Well, I'll give you your phone back on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Max will tutor you after school."

"Max? Mr. Max? No dad! Mr. Max is a nut, he'll probably teach me kickboxing or something."

"If that will help you learn math then your mother and I are okay with that."

"Fine," I huff, then rip the phone out of his hand and sit down at the table where my mom is eating oatmeal. She hands me a bowl and I eat with her.

"Good morning Beatrice," she smiles.

"Morning, mom. Listen, do I have to take these stupid crutches to school?"

"Oh, Beatrice. You heard Dr. Williams; they are to help you get better. Besides which, you still want to join the Cross Country team right?"

I nod my head.

"Well, tryouts are tomorrow and all you have to do for it is run a mile in seven minutes."

I nod and shrug. That's easy enough. Except that I have these crappy crutches and they're not even helping me walk better.

I finish my oatmeal and stand up on my own, then walk to the fridge and put an apple, granola bar, and water in my lunch. I look at my mom and see her nodding to my crutches. I put my hands up in mock defense and walk out the door with Caleb. My mom calls after me, and this makes me blush mad. But then Caleb starts the car and it's too late. Caleb starts talking about getting into the Erudite club and how the chess club is working out. I roll my eyes and feel stupid for not bringing my iPod.

* * *

"Tris, where are your crutches?"

"Not here Four," I slam my locker shut and we walk to the cafeteria.

Four puts his arm around my shoulder when boys _and_ girls stare at us when we walk to our friends' table.

When we sit down, I notice that someone is gone.

"Where's Al?" I ask, to no one in particular.

No one answers and I feel my cheeks blushing.

"Oh, my god! You will not believe what happened with Will and me yesterday!" Christina says, as she sets her bag down.

Then she sees me.

"Oh my god Tris! What happened?!"

Four answers for me, luckily, "Peter, Drew, Eric, and...Al tried to beat us up."

By now, everyone is looking at us, and they are all confused, "Al? Are you sure?" they all say.

I nod and Christina hugs me.

Then Al walks up.

"Speak of the devil," Uriah says.

We all nod.

"Tris, will you forgive me?"

"Are you kidding?" Will says, looking up from his phone, "Never come near her again."

Everyone nods.

"Tris?" Al asks.

"Never come near me again, bastard." I tell him. Four slaps his face and I cry into his shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Al clumsily walk away.

Then the bell rings.

I wipe my nose and pull my head from Four's shoulder. Then I straighten my blouse and we walk to class.

"Now, about those crutches," Four starts.

I roll my eyes, "I can walk fine with out 'em, can't I?"

He stares at me, as I keep walking. I see him nod, then smile at my butt. I slap his arm and we walk to math.

* * *

Dag nab it. I don't have my crutches and my mom didn't write me a note. Now I have to do P.E.

Coach Amar makes us run a few starter laps, and luckily I do fine. So far.

Then we do 40 meter sprints. I run against Christina. She wins, of course, but when I stop at the finish line, I end in mud, and slip. I fall face forward, and hear my ribs crack. I hold back tears, and Coach must have heard the cracking sound too, because he tells Christina to take me to the nurse's office. I limp there, and lean onto Christina for support.

"Hey, Tori," Christina says. I nod to her.

Tori smiles, but then she sees me in pain, "Hello girls! Tris, what happened? Should I get the nurse?"

Christina nods and a minute later, a male nurse comes.

"Hello, my name is Fernando. What seems to be the problem?"

Christina looks at me.

"Um, I got in a fight and didn't have a note in P.E. and I fell and felt a rib crack."

Tori looks at me sorrily.

I look at her like, _it's okay._

Fernando beckons for us to follow him to his office.

Christina helps me sit up on the cot.

'Thanks,' I mouth at her. She nods like it's no big deal.

I shrug.

Fernando clears his throat, "Okay, um,"

"Tris."

"Well Tris, I don't mean to be modest, but will you please lift up your shirt."

Christina looks at him funny and so do I.

"Please, I am a trained nurse and not a pervert," he points to his diploma, which is on the wall.

I nod and pull up my shirt. Christina coughs and Fernando blushes. I bite my lip and look away. Fernando looks for a minute and pulls his gloves up to examine my ribs. When he touches them, I wince. He pulls his hands back and goes to get some scissors and some gauze and an ace bandage.

"W-what's that?" I blurt out.

Fernando holds his tools up and I blush.

He cuts off a piece of gauze and puts some ointment that burns, then relieves my pain on my ribs. He puts the gauze over it and wraps it up with the ace bandage. I pull my shirt down and Fernando tells me to get better soon. He writes me a note to get out of P.E. for the week and I thank him. Then Christina and I leave. I hear Fernando mumble about how dangerous physical education can be.

"Hey guys! How'd it go Tris?"

I shrug and Tori gives Christina and me a mint each. Then she gives me another and smiles.

We thank her and walk back to P.E. slowly.

* * *

Since I gave Coach Amar my note, I didn't have to make up today's P.E.

I stuff a bunch of notebooks in my backpack, and walk out of school, when I remember that I have tutoring with Mr. Max. I turn around, but bump into Four.

"Hey, Tris. Heard you got outta P.E."

I nod.

"Wanna get some fro-yo with us?"

I shake my head, "I'm failing math and so Mr. Max is tutoring me."

Four kisses my head, "Ooh, good luck with that. Well see you tomorrow!"

I wave goodbye and see him get on his motorcycle with Zeke.

I walk fast into the main office.

"Hey, Tris. Any better?" Tori asks.

I shrug, "Do you know where Mr. Max's classroom is?"

Tori hands me a schedule, "Leave a book there?"

I nod. I really don't want to tell people that I have to be tutored.

"Well, it should be open. See you around!"

"Yeah," I say, then rush off to his classroom.

* * *

"Mr. Max?" I ask, pushing open his classroom door.

Luckily, his head pops up. "Oh, hello Beatrice. Ready for some math help?"

I nod. He wipes his hands on his jeans and we sit down.


	16. Chapter 16

**Tris POV:**

Mr. Max and I sit down to two desks that have been squished together. He doesn't know me well, since I was only in his class once last year.

"Okay, so you tell me a little about yourself and I'll tell you a little about me," he says.

I nod and Mr. Max slurps a Pepsi Max.

"Well, you can call me Tris. My brother Caleb's the good child, but I'm more athletic and getting into bad situations."

Mr. Max nods, "Call me Mr. Max. I used to work with your father and Dr. Matthews, the principle. I do the boxing club here at school and teach Algebra."

I nod.

"What happened to your cheek?"

"Got in a fight."

"With Peter Blake?"

I nod.

"Figured that. Listen, you may not want to talk about it and your father said only math, but I can at least show you how to throw a punch."

I shrug, "That'd be cool."

He smiles and I follow him over to a giant kickboxing bag that was in the back of the classroom. _How did I miss this coming in?_

Mr. Max, without thinking, beats the bag. It swings from side to side. I leap bag, expecting it to come off of its hinges.

Mr. Max chuckles and nudges for me to punch it. I try, but end up looking like an idiot. Mr. Max smiles.

"That's okay. It's your first time. Since you don't have much muscle, but are pretty fast, you're better off using your elbows and knees."

I nod.

"So what were those idiots doing to you?"

"Um, I was walking home and Eric, Al, Peter, and Drew jumped out of nowhere and beat me up. I have no idea why."

Mr. Max smiles sadly and says for us to get back to algebra before we flood the school of tears.

"Okay, so algebra is based off of x and y. Usually to find one of their values, you need to substitute a number..."

* * *

I get back home around 4 o'clock and put my backpack down.

"Beatrice?"

I turn around in the foyer to see my mother.

"How was your day at school?"

"Um, fine. And yours?"

"Great, thanks for asking. Did you miss your crutches or need some support for walking?"

"Uh, no," I dearly love my mother, but the least I need is for her to worry about me.

"Beatrice, is that the truth?"

I nod my head and scurry upstairs.

Before I get to my room, Caleb stops me.

"Beatrice-"

"Now what?"

"Beatrice, dad wanted me to ask how your tutoring was."

"So ask?"

"How was your tutoring with Mr. Fesler?"

"You mean Mr. Max?"

Caleb looks confused, then nods.

I actually enjoyed my time, but Caleb wouldn't believe that if I told him, so I say, "You would have liked it a lot more than me, Caleb."

Then I twist my doorknob. Caleb puts his hand around my wrist to stop me, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that math is super boring and so is Mr. Max. Happy?"

Caleb sighs and I slam the door on him, suddenly annoyed.

I flop down on my bed and pull out my phone.

_Three new texts from Four_, it reads.

_Yo Tris homecoming's in 13 days. r u going 2 the football game?_

_What's our math hwork?_

_Did u hear that Zeke and Shauna r going 2gether?_

I smirk and reply:_ Yeah i'll b at the game. math is pp. 24 #12-23 odds. didn't u know that Zeke has had the hots 4 Shauna 4 a while now?_

Then I read some of my English book and stand up to stretch. I see a motorcycle pull up to the curb. I look out my window to see who it is, and see Four get out and run up to my window. I yank it open.

"Four! What are you doing?!"

"So I can't see my beautiful girlfriend?"

I roll my eyes and slam the window shut. I run downstairs, then outside. Four and I hug.

"Follow me," I tell him. I pull his arm and we jog into the little backyard that we have.

I climb a tree and sit on the backyard roof. Four does the same.

"A little dangerous, isn't this?" he says.

"That's true. A little _dauntless_," I reply.

Four smiles. We sit there in silence for a few minutes.

"So...how's your band?"

Four shrugs, "The name's the best part of it."

"I figured," I respond smiling.

Then we hear a car pulling up in the driveway.

Four and I scoot down the roof, towards the tree.

"I'll go see who it is," we both say at the same time, then smile at each other and laugh for a second.

So we hop down from the tree and tip-toe up to the driveway. We see my dad take his briefcase and walk up to the door, then fumbling with the lock. His crisp gray suit doesn't even crinkle as he walks. Amazing. Four and I stand there for a minute.

"Want to go for a joyride?" he blurts out.

I shrug and Four takes my hand. We hop on the motorcycle, not caring about helmets. Then he starts it up and I put my arms around his waist. I feel Four smile. Then we go flying.

* * *

A half-hour later, Four drops me back at the house. I kiss him good-bye and open the door. There I see Susan and Caleb sitting on the couch together. They have always been modest, but Susan is almost on Caleb's lap. I roll my eyes and walk past them, hearing a little conversation:

"Do you understand it now?"

"...Hm? Oh, yes Caleb. Thank you. For teaching me."

"Anything. Were you focusing on me or the math?"

"Everything. Your eyes are truly mesmerizing."

"Thank you. Shall we move on to the next chapter?"

I roll my eyes again. Those two flirt terrible. Then I think,_ But they_ do _flirt. What do I do? Not that..._

Then I see my mom defrosting some chicken._ I should go help her._ So I do. I heat up some peas and put the burner on. Then my dad walks in and toasts some bread. We finish and set the food on the table. My mom calls Caleb and he and Susan enter (hand in hand).

"Caleb, come sit down. Susan, would you like to dine with us? It sounds like you and Caleb are not done with your math yet," my mom says calmly.

Caleb sits down, and nods at Susan. She smiles. I clear my throat.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Prior," Susan says, then sits next to Caleb. I sit down too, and can tell that those two are holding hands.

We say grace, and my parents talk, but I zone out. Caleb and Susan keep sneaking glances at each other, and I cough again. Caleb looks at me, and Susan blushes.

"Would you pass the chicken please?" I ask my mom.

She hands it over.

"Thank you."

"Of course. How was your day Beatrice?"

"Fine," I say, taking a bite of food.

"How was tutoring?" my dad suddenly says.

"Fine."

"And Max?"

"Fine."

"Anyways, Caleb and Susan, you are excused. Beatrice, would you be a dear and take care of the dishes?" my mom says.

I fake a smile and say, "Sure mom," then groan and cuss Caleb in my head.


	17. Chapter 17

**Four POV:**

I drop off Tris and head back on my motorcycle. I don't head back home, but drive around the city for a while. I feel the 'ding' of a new text from the phone in my pocket and pull over.

_Yo bro, u can crash at my house 4 2nite if u want 2. parents r out of town. ~zekeyboy_

I roll my eyes but then consider it. A night free from Marcus, is something I'd do almost anything for. So I get back on my Harley and go to my house to pick up a change of clothes and my backpack for the morning. When I get to the house, I open the door, and hear a strange noise, almost like a snicker. _Must be a coyote,_ I tell myself, _because Marcus has a meeting tonight, right?_

Then I go upstairs and hear another noise. I roll my eyes and stuff a spare shirt and pair of jeans into my backpack. I zip it up and sling it over my shoulder. But when I go down the hall, and pass Marcus' room, I see a figure hunched over his computer.

I'm no fan of Marcus, but I cannot resist the urge to kill that figure. Because when I see it from a better angle, I see Eric laughing at Marcus' email and muttering words that are better not repeated at the computer. _Damn you, Eric. You shouldn't have messed with me, Tris, or the mayor._

So I put down my backpack and creep up behind him. Thankfully, Eric is so interested in Marcus' files that he doesn't notice me.

Then I attack and put him in a half-nelson and punch his other half-face until it turns dark purple. Eric screams and flails his arms immediately. I chuckle at this then punch his temple a few times. My knuckles are bleeding but I shrug it off. Eric falls on top of me, but I flip it around so I am on top of him. His nose is bleeding and was dripping on the floor._ Great. Just great. If Marcus finds out Eric was here, he'll beat me._

Eric screams again, "Whoa man! Four! Stop it! Why are you doing this?!"

I put my hand around his mouth, "More important, why are you doing this? Who sent you?"

"No one man! It was just a prank!"

I roll my eyes, "No it wasn't. Who sent you and why? Was it Dr. Matthews?"

"Man why do you care? I thought you hated Marcus. Ooh, you're a daddy's boy!"

I shake my head, "The opposite actually. Why are you doing this? Who sent you?" Then I punch his face again.

"Aah! Okay, I'll tell you. Dr. Matthews sent me because Marcus has some sort of file. It has to do with the gangs in the city or something. Apparently he's a leader of one."

"Tell me more," I barely make out.

"That's all I know."

I knee him in the balls.

Eric winces, "All I know I told you."

"Why does Dr. Matthews want the file?"

"She wants power over the city."

"Is that why you beat up Tris and me? To threaten Marcus? Don't you realize that Marcus has done much worse to me?!"

Eric nods, "It was all Dr. Matthews' ideas."

I take a deep breath in, "Fine. Close out of your program and leave."

Eric nods and slowly gets up.

I sit on the bed. Thankfully, he's too weak to advance on me. Eric closes out of his program, and slips a hard drive into his pocket.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You know what I mean. Turn over your pockets."

Eric does just that and the thumb drive falls out. Eric lunges for it, but I reach it before him. Without thinking, my foot stomps and crushes it.

Eric winces. Dr. Matthews will not be happy.

I point to the door and Eric slowly walks out. I hear him trip on the stairs. So I run down them and drag him out to the driveway.

Then I pick up my backpack from upstairs and change my shirt. Then I head out on my Harley for Zeke's place.

* * *

Zeke POV:

Since our parents are still out of town, Uriah and I decide to invite some friends to spend the night. I invite Four and Uriah invites a few guys from the football team and Will. Then I get an amazing, if I do say so myself, idea: _what if we played 'Spin the Bottle'?_

So I text a few girls to come over around 7.

Then I go to the garage and get some snacks: a few bottles of cola and a few bags of party pack sized Lays.

"What are you doing?"

I turn around and sigh, "Now what Uriah? It's past your bed time."

"Very funny Zeke."

"I'm grabbing some food for tonight."

Uriah looks at me for a minute and then takes the chips and carries them up for me. I smile and we set them on the kitchen counter.

"What time is it?" Uriah asks.

"Um...around 6:30. Why?"

Uriah looks at me like I'm stupid.

Then I realize it. "Crap! That means we only have half an hour before people arrive!"

Uriah nods like this is not new to him.

"Okay, you take the kitchen, I'll tackle the living room! Go!" I shout.

I hear him scramble to do the dishes as I put some stain remover on a spot on the carpet where somebody spilled coffee. Then I vacuum the carpet and soon enough, seven o'clock comes. I straighten the magazines on the coffee table and wipe away some dust with my sleeve.

Then the doorbell rings. Uriah answers it.

"Oh, hey Four...yeah, Zeke's in the living room...ha. Okay. I'll be sure to do that."

I only heard pieces of the conversation, and it confuses me.

Then Four walks in and sits down next to me, shrugging off his bag.

"So..." Four starts.

"Yes?"

He shrugs, "Just trying to break the awkward silence."

I nod. The doorbell rings again. Uriah answers it, again. It turns out to be Will, Edward, and Adrian, from the football team.

A few more minutes pass. I turn on the Bear's game.

We all watch the end of it and chat. Uriah and Adrian end up having a burping contest while each drinking about a liter of cola.

Everyone laughs. I stare at the clock, waiting for more people, particularly Shauna, to arrive.

A minute passes. 7:09.

Then another minute passes. Four goes to get cooled drinks for us from the fridge.

The doorbell rings, and this time, I answer it.

"Tris?"

"Zeke."

She looks scared.

"C'mon," I motion for her to come in.

She does, dragging a drawstring backpack.

We walk to the living room and sit down.

A few guys stare at her.

Tris wipes tears from her eyes.

"Tris? Are you okay?" Uriah asks. Then he turns and looks at me funnily, like _Why did you invite her?_

Tris shakes her head.

I look back to Uriah,_ Yeah. Got a problem?_

He shakes his head bluntly.

"What happened?" Will blurts out.

Tris closes her eyes and slowly says, "Al. Again."

Uriah hugs her.

Then Four walks in the room.

"Tris?" he asks, while he takes a sip, nearly spilling soda on himself.


	18. Chapter 18

**Four POV:**

As I go and get some pop for the guys, I hear a the doorbell ring. It must be another player from the football team. But then I hear a muffled sniffling noise that sounds girly. And to confirm my beliefs, I hear Uriah ask, "Tris? Are you okay?"

I have to know what happened. I crush the soda can in my hand and throw it on the ground when Tris says, "Al. Again."

I walk in the room, not expecting to see Tris crying. I've never seen her like this. Never so unstable. Or so fragile.

I literally spill my drink over my shirt. Uriah is hugging a crying Tris. She looks up to me, so vulnerably. I glare at Uriah and he steps back mercifully from the hug. I stick out my arm, offering her my drink. She shakes her head and wipes her nose on her sleeve. I put the drink down and Zeke leaves the room. He comes back with tissues. Tris takes one and I glare at him, _It's my job idiot. She's my girlfriend._

Zeke looks at me, _I didn't do nothing_.

I roll my eyes and sit down next to Tris. She climbs onto my lap and I hug her from behind. I feel her melt into me and I smile.

"Tris. Tell me what happened," I whisper in her ear.

So she gets up and drags me into the kitchen.

She sits on the countertop and I lean against the cupboard.

I look at her expectantly.

Tris takes in a shaky breath and says, "Well, after you dropped me off, and after we had dinner, the doorbell rang. It was Al."

I bite my lip and look at Tris questionably.

She nods.

I rotate my hand, as if to say, _Keep going._

She nods, "Well, my mother answered the door. She said to come talk to Al, but I just packed an overnight bag and ran over here."

I hug her. Tris smiles.

"Well, what did Al want?"

"I think he was hoping my mother would answer the doorbell and referee us. But I just ran away. What will everyone think?! I'm a coward Tobias! A coward!"

I smile. She called me Tobias. Not Four. Tobias. I shake my head, "You're the bravest person I know."

Tris smiles weakly and leans up to kiss me. I let her. She wraps her arms around me and I put mine around her petite hips.

I hear footsteps. Someone coughs. Tris and I break apart.

Zeke scratches the back of his neck, "Well, I thought I'd let you know that Lauren, Shauna, Lynn, Marlene, and Christina are all here."

I look at him crazily. Since when do you invite girls to sleepovers?

Zeke puts his arms up in mock defense as Tris walks past him into the living room.

I stand there for a while, until I notice Zeke getting some food out. I help him, and we carry a pack of Sprite, a bowl of chips, and a tube of Red Vines into the living room and set them on the coffee table.

I sit next to Tris who is looking at Christina intently while trying to tell a story and twirl her hair at the same time. Once I put my hand on Tris' back, Christina pauses and Tris turns around to smile at me. She leans into me and Christina keeps talking.

Tris occasionally laughs. This makes me occasionally smile. I hear Christina describe her date with Will the other night.

"And so have you and Four been on any dates?"

I bite my lip.

"Well, Four took me on a motorcycle ride," Tris says slowly.

Christina looks at Tris like she's an alien, "Oh, come on! That doesn't count! But if that's it, I need details!"

Tris sighs and shrugs, "I'm, well, not the romantic type, and you know that, Christina."

"Oh, really?" I butt in.

Tris looks at me and pecks my lips.

Christina laughs really loudly and looks at Will, who is fiddling with his watch. Christina smacks his arm playfully and he huffs, before getting up and sitting super close to Christina on the couch.

* * *

Zeke clears his throat, loud enough for everyone to look at him expectantly.

"Well, ladies and gentleman, who wants to play a game?"

Uriah rolls his eyes.

Zeke glares at him, then looks back to everyone else, "Listen peeps, I've got Spin-the-Bottle and Truth or Dare. Take your pick."

Then he sits down next to Shauna on the floor.

Edward, who comes out of the bathroom with his shirt untucked and Myra hooked on his arm, says, "Let's play Spin-the-Bottle."

Myra smiles at him and they kiss in front of everyone.

I can feel Tris rolling her eyes.

Zeke coughs really loudly. Edward and Myra break apart, blushing.

"Okay, people. Get in a circle. Uriah, drain another soda bottle and give it to me."

Uriah rolls his eyes and walks into the kitchen. A minute later, he comes back with a empty bottle.

"Took you less time than I'd have suspected," Zeke comments.

Uriah glares at him, and someone mutters 'burn' before Uriah sits down next to Marlene.

Then Zeke spins the bottle.

It lands on Shauna, who kisses him gladly.

Zeke passes the bottle to Uriah. It lands on Christina. She pecks his cheek briskly, and turns back to Will, angrily.

We all laugh.

Christina passes the bottle to Tris.

She spins it and it lands on Will.

They shake their heads at the same time.

"So...now what?" Christina asks.

"Well if neither of you will kiss, then, um...Tris has to do a dare," Zeke says after a minute.

"A dare? Where did that come from?" Shauna asks.

Zeke shrugs.

Everyone is quiet for a minute, until Christina squeals, "Oh! I have the perfect dare!"

She whispers it in Tris' ear and her eyes go wide.

"Well? What is it?" Zeke asks.

"Tris and Four have to play Seven Minutes in Heaven! And they say romance is dead!" Christina squeals.

_What?!_

Tris huffs and drags me up. We follow Zeke to Uriah's room.

* * *

"Four bro, if anything happens, protection is in the top drawer in Uriah's dresser," Zeke whispers in my ear.

Unfortunately, he says it loud enough for Tris to hear. Her eyes go wide and she blushes. I knee Zeke in the balls. He hunches over, smiling to himself.

I glare at Zeke once more and he closes the door, walking out.

I sit down next to Tris on the bed.

"So...I have never played this before, and what are we supposed to do?" Tris asks.

I stare directly into her bluish-grey eyes, "Well, anything really. Most people kiss or whatever, but if we don't do anything, no one will kno-"

I am interrupted by a kiss that knocks me over. I wrap my arms around Tris and we finish what we started in the kitchen earlier.


	19. Chapter 19

**Tris POV:**

Four and I make out for a little while, then I pull back. Four looks confused, but I hold up my phone. It's vibrating.

Four nods for me to answer it, and so I do.

"Yes Caleb?"

"Beatrice, mother wants to know where you are."

"Tell her I'm at Christina's."

"Why? You know mom is strict on school-night sleepovers."

"Because you saw Al come by. He was talking with mom, and I got scared and left. Al's been stalking me. And remember when I got beat up? Well, Al was there."

"Are you sure? Albert is a very nice kid."

"Yes I'm sure. How do you know him?"

"From chess club. He got kicked out for knocking over every piece."

I mutter, "Serves him right."

"Well, I have to leave. I'm helping Susan with her homework?"

"Need help with chemistry?" I snicker.

"No. And if you must know, it's math."

"Aw, that's sweet."

"Beatrice, would you stop it?!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down Caleb."

Well, bye."

"Bye."

And with that, he hangs up.

I sit back down with Four, and hold his hand, sighing.

"Yes?" he asks.

I lean my head on his shoulder, "Brothers have no use in society."

Four chuckles lightly and kisses my hand.

Then someone knocks on the door.

Zeke busts in, all of a sudden.

"Knocking then opening defeats the purpose of knocking," Four states bluntly.

"Well, your time is up, like it or not. Wait, why are you holding hands?! Is that all you guys did?!"

I hold up my phone, "It rang. Besides, like I told Christina, we aren't the lovey-dovey type."

Zeke rolls his eyes and huffs, "Anyways, get downstairs. The game's boring without you two."

Four and I laugh, and go downstairs hand in hand.

"There you two are! It's been longer than seven minutes! Hasn't it Will?" Christina says.

We all sigh and Four and I sit down.

"So...what went on in there?" Christina inquires and wiggles her eyebrows.

I giggle.

Four raises his eyebrows questionably at Christina.

I giggle again and lean against Four.

He strokes my hair while Christina verbally comes up with ideas on what we did in the bedroom.

"Maybe they just talked. I mean, Tris' hair didn't get messed up and Four still has his shirt tucked in. Or maybe...maybe they did make out. Zeke did take a while to get them to come out,' she says.

"Did not! We were talking, that's all," Zeke says.

"Sure..." Will says, defending Christina.

* * *

Half an hour later, we are all still talking.

"Can we watch a movie or something? This is incredibly boring," Uriah says.

Zeke nods with him.

"Fine. But you two need to admit what you did in there," Christina says, looking at us suspiciously, with her hands on her hips, the whole time.

I roll my eyes. I can feel Four doing the same.

"Let's continue the game," Marlene suggests.

People shrug and nod.

So Four spins the bottle. God knows where it landed.

"Blank. Go again," Zeke states.

Four nods.

It lands on me.

Thank god.

Four kisses my lips delicately.

Then he passes the bottle to Uriah.

It lands on my.

Holy crap, the only words that come into my mind.

Uriah kisses me.

I must have a look of shock on my face, because after his lips part mine,, he asks if I'm okay.

I nod, my face not changing at all. Then Four snaps his fingers in my face. I shrink back into Four and blush madly.

Uriah goes back to Marlene, who also has a look of shock on her face. Then Uriah hugs her and kisses her cheek to make her smile. And she does.

The game goes on and after quite a few make out sessions, we call it quits.

Uriah goes to get about a gallon or two of popcorn and Zeke puts on _The Hunger Games_.

I've only seen this movie a few times, and so when it comes to the point in the arena, I bury my face in Four's chest. He strokes my hair.

When the movie is over, a few people go home.

Four asks me if I want to and I shake my head and mouth "Al" to him. He nods.

Only Will, Christina, Shauna, Marlene, Lynn, Four and I, and Zeke and Uriah are left.

We see Marlene asleep on Uriah's shoulder and "ah" in response. Marlene stirs awake and Uriah laughs at what she doesn't know.

"Well people, it's been lovely seeing you, but goodnight," Zeke says while yawning. Then he takes Shauna to his room.

Uriah leaves to get us situated and comes back with five sleeping bags. Then he takes Marlene up to his room and tells us to turn of the lamps when we are about to fall asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Tris POV:**

The next morning, I wake up to Zeke and Uriah literally having a Who-Can-Eat-the-Most-Cereal-in-a-Minute contest. Four sits by smiling.

This must be a good time to come in because almost everyone else is in there: Will is cooking eggs while Christina is flirtatiously telling him about her bulldog, Chunker; Marlene and Shauna are sitting and asking their boys if they need some milk to wash it down as Lynn stands by drinking the milk.

So I slip out of my sleeping bag and make my way into the kitchen, sliding into the cushioned bench seat next to Four. His hand makes it all the way around my waist and he pulls me closer to him. So close that my hand is squished by his waist. So I pull it out and wrap it around his. Four smiles down at me. I catch him in the act and kiss him.

Lynn, unfortunately, stops chugging milk to stare at us crazily. I pull back and roll my eyes, and can feel Four rolling his. Then Lynn goes back to watching Zeke and Uriah.

After a few more minutes of Four's and my awkward silence, he gets up and puts on the toaster, sliding about seven pieces of a mixture of whole grain and white bread into it. After a moment the toaster dings and Four taps my shoulder. I look up to him and he kisses my cheek while giving me a piece of whole grain toast with Skippy peanut butter sloppily spread onto it.

I smile at him, and bite into the toast.

Then I spit it out, and look up at Four.

He raises his eyebrows and I hold up the toast for him to taste. And he does. So much that when he bites into it, he immediately spits it out, swearing.

"Shit!" he screams, causing everyone to stop. Christina pulls back from Will's lips blushing. Uriah and Zeke suddenly stop eating and starts choking, causing Marlene and Shauna to whack their backs really hard worriedly. And Lynn spits out her milk.

Christina comes up, "Is everything okay?" she asks, then looks at the spit-up toast, "Eww. Four, are you four years old?"

We look at her crazily.

"It's burnt Christina," Four informs her.

Then Christina 'ewws' at once more before turning back and walking swiftly back to Will, who puts his arm around her shoulder.

Then everyone goes back to what they were doing before.

* * *

A while later, everyone clears out of the house while Zeke locks up. Then we go to school.

Well, not in my case. Four drops me off at my house and waits for me on his Harley. Then I sneak inside, dropping off my dirty clothes in the laundry and picking up my backpack, along with a water bottle and energy bar. On my way out, my mom sees me and immediately hugs me and apologizes. I kiss her cheek and walk out.

To an enraged Four.

Who looks like he's about to show Caleb who's boss.

So I sling my backpack over my shoulders and cross my arms, walking up to the two boys. Caleb, who is listing his ideas about where I was last night and how Four is to blame, suddenly stops talking. I glare at him and tug on Four's new varsity Letterman's jacket and motion for him to come on. And he does. We get on his motorcycle and Four starts up the engine. I wrap my arms around him as we speed away, and breathe in his heavenly scent.

When I look back, I see Caleb still standing there, with his jaw dropped. So I stick out my tongue and yell, "Don't be late for school!" to him.

Four smirks and I smile.

Then his motorcycle accelerates and we speed past countless cars.

* * *

"Tris! Where have you been?" Christina shouts, literally in my ear.

I roll my eyes and huff, "Four took me to my house so I could get my backpack."

"Oh. Okay," then her expression suddenly changes, "Omg! Omg Tris you have to come shopping with me on Friday!"

"Why?" I inquire, my eyebrows crinkling in confusion.

Christina smacks her forehead and looks at me like I'm stupid, "Geez Tris! Homecoming is next Saturday! Do you even have a dress yet?!"

I shake my head.

She rolls her eyes and starts talking to Marlene and Shauna about it.

I sit there, with my hand resting on my knee.

Then someone taps my shoulder. I whip my head around scared, and then relieved.

"Oh, hey Four," I say.

He smiles in response, then hands me a paper, "Did you see this?"

"Um, no...? What is it?"

"See for yourself."

I nod.

_**2013-14 Football Roster:**_

_**Varsity:**_

_#4 Tobias Eaton: QB _

_#11 Zeke Faasa: TB/K_

_#37 Uriah Faasa: DEF_

_#43 Eric Williams: WR_

_**Junior Varsity:**_

_#12 Will Johnson: FB_

_#71 Peter Blake: HB_

"You made quarterback!" I say smiling.

Four nods happily and kisses my cheek.

"And you just found out today?"

"Yesterday. I was gonna surprise you."

"I thought that letterman's jacket looked new."

Four nods again.

"Well Uriah must be happy that he got varsity."

He nods a third time.

"And...?"

"Didn't you notice? Mr. Amar and Mr. Max must have found out that we got beat up. Didn't you notice? Eric, Al, and Drew got kicked out and Peter only made JV."

I smile, "They deserve that."

He nods again, "Now let's go to class," he says, then holds out his hand. I stand up and we gladly walk through the halls hand in hand, making so many people jealous.

* * *

"Ooh, look at that one! Tris you have to get it! Please?! Please?"

I roll my eyes, "We've looked at it already, and my answer remains the same. No," I state blankly and watch as Christina holds up a purple dress with a bow in front of her and poses for Marlene to see. She shakes her head and Christina sighs as she puts it back on the clothes rack.

"When can we leave?" I ask, and suddenly regret it once I see Christina's irritated face.

She pinches my cheek and says "Oh, Tris. One day you'll learn the bright side to shopping," in a sing-songy voice.

I look at her crazily.

"Besides, only Shauna has picked out her dress so far. And all four of us need to."

I sigh, and sit down, accidently bumping a lady sipping her coffee. It spills on her immaculately white dress and she yelps.

"Sorry," I say, more vulnerable than intended.

She huffs and says, "What have you done?! Watch where you're going!" Then she walks off, her stilettos clipping in the distance.

I look to Christina with my eyebrows raised.

She shrugs like it's not her fault and stands there for a minute before looking at more dresses.


	21. Chapter 21

**Tris POV:**

The last five days have been stressful. First, Al kept stalking me in the halls, and so I slapped him. A teacher was there to see it, but it was luckily Mr. Max, who gave me a thumbs-up. The next day Al kept following me, and eventually Four knocked a tooth out of him. Then Dr. Matthews found out. Luckily, it was the gossip that saved him. People had been saying that Al just injured himself while wrestling. And he _is_ on the team. So Dr. Matthews let Four go with a warning. You should have seen his face. It was all 'Yes miss. No miss. Of course miss," and he was so relieved afterwards that he could continue with football. That's all he's been doing, especially since the team started late and has to scrimmage and play some games before Homecoming.

And on top of that, Christina is making me go dress shopping with her, Shauna, and Marlene.

We've been at Nordstrom's for about an hour, which is really a few days' worth of drama.

And I am bored out of my mind.

Then I accidently bump a lady and she spills her coffee. She growls and goes away. I look to Christina, but she just shrugs and goes back to looking for dresses.

"This? No...Nope...Ooh, I like it. But it doesn't match my tan. Hmm, this one? Hey, Marlene, come try on this one," Christina says.

I huff.

Christina and Marlene hold dresses in front of themselves in front of the mirror.

I sit down, and look at my watch. I could be using my time better.

Then I leave. Christina calls my name, but I just tell her I need to get some air.

Then I escape to Barnes and Nobles.

* * *

I look on the shelf and sigh.

Anne of Green Gables seems too boring.

So does everything else.

I flip through the latest edition of _National Geographic_ and end up purchasing it.

Then I get a smoothie from Jamba Juice and eventually make my way back to Nordstrom, where I immediately see Shauna consulting with one of the makeup ladies.

"Tris? Tris! I found the perfect dress for you!" a voice says.

I turn around and see Christina holding a slutty short black dress. I shake my head. Christina sighs.

"Well, I'm happy to spend my life at this store, but you've got to choose."

I look at her like she's an alien and slurp my Mango-a-Go-Go exceptionally loudly.

Christina glares at me. I raise my eyebrows and spot a dress.

It's...well, not slutty, but still has shape. It's gray. Or black. It's so gray that it looks almost black. And it has a navy blue strap that ties in the back. It's a V-neck in the back and front.

I set my belongings aside and pick one in my size up, careful not to crinkle it. Christina smiles really wide and motions for me to try it on. So I go into one of the dressing rooms and do.

A minute later, Christina knocks on the door. I open it and she gasps.

She pulls my hand, and I look at myself in the mirror. The dress highlights what little curves I have and comes down just pass my knees. Then I spot Marlene looking for us. She finds us, and runs up to us.

"Tris? Wow, you look fabulous!" She says.

I smile and blush. Christina twirls her finger around and I spin, letting a smile escape from my lips. Christina and Marlene gasp in wonder.

Then I take off the dress and swipe my belongings off of the cushion. Then I go up to the counter to pay for it.

"Umm, uh uh, missy. Tris we aren't done yet..." Christina says, then drags me over to the shoe department.

"_No,_ Christina,_ I told you_, no heels!" I say, nearly shouting when she starts picking up stilettos and matching them up to my shoe size and dress color. I sigh and sit down on the plush stool.

Christina yanks off a boot and pulls off my Adidas sock, cringing. I smile nervously and she just rolls her eyes. Then she slips on a bright pink stiletto. I pull it off with great force and hand it back to her angrily.

Christina rolls her eyes and tells me to go find what_ I_ want.

I roll my own eyes and pull a random shoe off the shelf, anxious for this to be over.

Then I go to Christina who is talking casually about Homecoming with a makeup specialist. I sigh, and set the shoe down, then start reading about saving big black pandas in _National Geographic_.

* * *

"Tris, I know you're mad, but-" Christina starts.

I stare at the dashboard, slurping the rest of my Mango-a-Go-Go, "And tired. And furious. While you had that lady harm my skin with toxic products, I silently listed what I could have, and should have, been doing instead of wasting my time!" I say, never even setting eyes on Christina.

"Four will love it!"

I just sigh and look out the window. A train going past us. A man wearing a black and white suit with a briefcase hopping into a taxi. A girl wearing a bright yellow jacket laughing happily into cellphone.

"Tris, are you listening?"

I look at her innocently and she looks into my eyes, like she knows what I'm thinking, "At least you got a nice dress. And makeup. And shoes!

"And a headache! And a brain freeze!"

"Girl, that was your own fault," she says, before taking my smoothie and draining the last of it.

"Hey!"

She smirks, "Transportation fee."

I roll my eyes.

"But that's beside the point. You got some great things that Four would pay money to see you in! Plus a magazine! Caleb's rubbing off on you!"

I sigh and look at Christina crazily, "I could have very well been doing something better with my time!"

Now Christina looks at me funny, "Yeah. You said that. So, like what?"

"Umm...listening to music?"

"...A mere pastime. See, Tris, this is good for you! Your life is too bland! Jazz it up!" and with that, she turns on 91.5 FM.

I turn it down, after a few minutes of Bon Jovi.

Christina glares at me, before turning the corner.

"A mere pastime," I mimic.

She hits my arm playfully, "Shut up!" Then we crack up and she pulls in to my driveway and waves as I slam the door. I roll my eyes, laughing to myself.

I hear her crank up the volume as she heads in the direction of her house.


	22. Chapter 22

**Tris POV:**

The Monday before Homecoming, Four tells me that he still needs to get a tuxedo.

"Four, it's Homecoming, for goodness sake's. We're not going to the Grammy's," I tell him, for about the twentieth time today.

"Yeah, but I still need to look nice," he says flirtatiously.

I roll my eyes, and walk along to P.E.

Four follows.

"Where are you going? AP biology is the other direction."

"Oh, I got excused from that class. Mr. Amar's letting me do my senior project in teaching P.E."

I nod and continue walking.

Once we get to the gym, I change into a black shirt and black shorts. I put my other clothes in a locker.

Then I see Four yelling at Peter and telling him to run five extra laps for disrupting the class. Mr. Amar stands off to the side, nodding and approving of Four.

"Okay, class! Let's take two laps around the track," Four says.

We start running, and I finally feel free.

I take a lap around and start on the next.

I finish first.

Then Mr. Amar comes up to me, "I know it's the first week of October, but I'd like you to join the Cross Country team. You keep a steady pace and know what's going on around you. Those are two key concepts to running and with those and a little leadership skills, you could easily be a captain," he says. Then he hands me the form and tells me to put it with my stuff.

When I get back, the class is doing push-ups. I squeeze in between Uriah and Christina.

Four is counting off numbers, and I start.

Uriah is staying quiet next to me, and I look at him funny.

"I took medication to calm my asthma," he says.

I nod and keep pushing.

Then I look to my right, where Christina is.

She's looking at this cheerleader in front of her, and trying to go faster.

Once we've done 20 push-ups, Four tells us that we will be playing Capture-the-Flag.

He makes the captains Peter and Edward.

This should be fun...

* * *

After school, Four takes me home before he has to go to football practice.

I kiss him goodbye and walk past the driveway, where Marcus Eaton is.

I slowly back out and look into the street. Marcus' car is parked up against the curb.

"Four!" I shout, as he drives away.

But it's no good. He can't hear me.

I sulk and walk up to the front door. By the time I get there, Marcus is shaking hands with my parents and smiling. I roll my eyes and walk past them.

But my mom calls my name, "Beatrice, come say hello to Mr. Eaton," she says.

I groan inside and put on a fake smile.

Marcus grins when he sees me. He pulls my hand up and shakes the feeling out of it. I smile uneasily and pull it back.

Then I dash upstairs to 'work on homework,' as I tell my parents. They nod and I listen to Flyleaf and think about life.

* * *

"Beatrice? Did you go see Mr. Fesler today?" my dad asks, about an hour later.

I cuss under my breath, yank out my ear buds, and open the door.

"No," I confess.

"I'd thought you got home early," he says.

"So...are you mad? I thought it was only for one week," I say.

He shakes his head, "I just wish you'd remember. This is an awfully big deal. The grade on your next test goes on your permanent record."

I bite my lip. I bet my dad wishes that I was just like Caleb.

"Well, you go back to your homework. I will email Mr. Fesler," he says after a while.

I nod and thank him. Then I shut the door once he leaves and bury my face in pillows. This was not a good idea to get the boxing teacher mad. But when my dad knocks on my door an hour later, he seems fairly happy. Apparently Mr. Fesler also forgot.

I thank my dad again, but this time, I go downstairs.

I show my parents the Cross Country sheet and they look at each other.

"Isn't it too late to sign up?" my mom asks.

"Well, normally, but Mr. Amar gave it to me and said he could make an exception. And he thinks I could easily be a captain," I say.

"Look, Beatrice. I think it's a great idea to engage in other sports, but why don't you wait until your grade in math goes up?" my dad asks.

I huff and walk past them, back upstairs.

This time, I switch the soundtrack on my iPod to All Time Low. Then I throw my fluffy pillow at the wall. It bounces beck to me and I throw it at the wall again, letting a tear flow down my face. There's no point in wiping it away right now.

A few minutes later, someone knocks on my door. _Uggh, again..._

I open it hastily, and my mom smiles at me. I smile nervously back.

"Beatrice, your father and I know that sports are important to you. We learned through your grade school soccer years. And so we are allowing you to do Cross Country-on an agreement that you hold a B in math," she says, before handing me the form, which is completed with all the Emergency and Medical information.

"Thanks," I say, before hugging her.

My mom seems startled, but seems to melt into the hug.

"Now let's go set the table and make a salad," she says.

I pout, and then smile. If my parents let me join the team, the least I can do is make a simple salad. Now all I gotta do is get a B.


	23. Chapter 23

**(Mr.) Max POV:**

Jeanine stands up against her desk, pacing in front of me.

"_What_ are we going to do?" she asks sharply.

I shrug.

She glares at me, "About running for mayor. We need another way to get to Marcus Eaton, other than through his son."

"We could go in and kidnap him."

"And what good would that do?"

"I mean, his son."

"I just said, other than through-"

"Jeanine, hear me out. I hear that he wants his to be top notch. Like a great athlete, student, and citizen. Because he thinks if people know that his son is great, then they'll think he's good too."

"So...how do we turn him into a bad kid?"

"I hear his childhood's ruined because Marcus beat him."

"So we either get him to talk to a reporter for the newspaper, or turn him into a bad kid."

"How?"

"I also hear that he's going to Homecoming with one of Marcus' co-workers' children."

Jeanine looks at me, then after a while she nods her head, "That might actually work. But we still need a backup."

"Like what? You're the one with a Ph.D."

"Well, I remember when Marcus and I were great friends. We grew up and went to the same high school together, this one, in fact. My dad ran it. I was the valedictorian, and later, Marcus said he had a crush on me. So that summer, we went out and ended up going to Loyola together. It was a blast. Then we went separate ways. I got a scholarship, so I had to stay at Loyola to study teaching and eventually psychology. But Marcus wanted to travel and get a master's degree in architecture, to study city design and development. He broke up with me, and went to Boston university. Seven years later, we promised to meet back at the Cloud Gate, or 'Bean.' The problem is, he came back with a pregnant wife. He said that graduate school had only taken two years, so afterwards, he eloped. I told him that my application to become a teacher here, at this school, had been accepted. Marcus said that he wanted to run for mayor, and we agreed to stay friends. I later became the principle, and Marcus the mayor. I got married, and when his wife ran away, Marcus had drinking problems. I helped him with them and we would regularly meet for coffee, strictly business, of course."

"So...you have nothing against him, right?"

Jeanine shakes her head, "In 2008, the stock market crashed. Marcus wanted to use the remaining money on helping the homeless, and when we talked about it, I said the money would have more use in schools, or even public utilities. Marcus got furious and went back to drinking. I tried to help him, and ended up telling the city council about his problem. They didn't believe me, so I told them about Marcus' plans for the city's money. They sided with Marcus, naturally. So I turned Marcus into a rehab facility for four years, and his son went to boarding school. Marcus came out, and told everyone that he had been at a Hindu monestary for those four years. Everyone believed his and he ran for office again, and was successful. His son finished the school year and was accepted into this school."

I finish for her, "And you two have grown further apart ever since."

Jeanine nods, "And so even though we were friends once, I have never trusted Marcus, since Chicago has lost a money through trusting his 'selfless' actions."

"What if you videotaped him drinking and abusing his son, or you got hold of his rehab records?"

Jeanine nods, "That might actually work. Thank you Max. And one more thing, Marcus has a file of gang violence in Chicago on his computer. Daniel and I want that file. We had Eric try to get it, but he was caught. If you can, try and think of another strategy."

I nod.

We stand up, and shake hands.

"Tell Daniel good luck, and to cheer up," I say to her.

"Yes, he will win this race and become mayor, if it's the last thing he does. But Max,"

"Yes?"

"Do me a favor and don't end your sentences in prepositions."

I smile and we laugh.

She waves goodbye and I head back to my classroom to correct papers.

* * *

Damn.

I forgot I needed to tutor Tris.

But when I get to my desk, I see an email from her dad.

_**From:** A Prior andrewprior chicagocitycouncil .gov _  
_**To:** Max Fesler mfesler chicagoprephigh .com _  
_**Sent:** Monday, October 7, 2013 4:23 PM_  
_**Subject:** Tutoring Beatrice_

_Dear Mr. Fesler,_

_This Andrew Prior, regarding Beatrice's math tutoring. She forgot about coming today, and is deeply sorry. Beatrice thought it was only for one week, but if memory serves, I remember us saying that it would be until she gets at least an 85% on the upcoming test._

_Sorry again, _

_Andrew Prior_

I roll my eyes. This guy is too formal. So I type,

_Dear Andrew,_

_To be honest, I forgot too. So let's just let bygones be bygones, and resume tutoring tomorrow. And you are correct; I will tutor Tris until she gets a 'B' on that big test, which I believe is the PSAT._

_Sorry too,_

_Max Fesler_

Then I rub my eyes and go back to grading papers.

* * *

**Will POV:**

"Ha! Oh, Will, you're_ so_ funny!" Christina tells me, her smile a mile wide. She licks her spoon.

I smile back and look into my half-empty container of Pinkberry chocolate-hazelnut frozen yogurt.

My eyes glance over Christina. She won't stop smiling at me. Wow.

I reach over and kiss her.

And Christina kisses me back.

Our lips meet in the middle of the tiny table, and Christina's bunched sleeve is falling off her elbow, and into her mango fro-yo. But for once, she doesn't care. Christina. Is. Acting. Natural. That, or she just really likes me more than her clothes. So I smile, and can feel her lips smiling against mine.

"Mm," she says after we break apart, "Chocolate-hazelnut."

My hand reaches across the table, and my spoon scoops up some mango fro-yo. I smile at her, and Christina grins evilly back. She takes my container and mixes the two flavors together, earning a laugh from me. She scoops half it back into my container.

"Eat," she states.

"I will if you will," I say back.

"Okay. On three. One...Two...Three."

And we eat and make a big mess, causing the store manager to kick us out.

Christina looks hurt, but I punch her shoulder playfully.

"Hey, it's cool. We're bad kids now," I say, to cheer her up. Christina smiles at me and we get in my old mustang.

We drive around town, with the windows down and the radio's volume cranked all the way up.

An hour later, I drop Christina back at her house. We kiss goodbye and I watch her walk up to the front of her house and use the key to get in. She waves at me and I blow her a kiss back. Although I don't see her, I can feel her giggling at that.

Then I drive back home, to do homework.

* * *

**Jeanine POV:**

After Max leaves my office, I pull my hair back into a ponytail and get to back to work.

When I check my email, I see the Chicago daily news bulletin.

There's a bunch of stuff on farming and life outside the city, and I skim past that. Only one word comes to mind: amity.

Then I see an article that interests me:

**Mayor Eaton to be Visiting Homeless Shelters on Wednesday; Hopes to Find Improvement Since Last Food Drive**

Mayor Marcus Eaton is going to be touring Lincoln Park Community Shelter and Interfaith House On Wednesday, October 8th in hopes to find improvement among Homeless. The last time he visited these shelters, in June, he found many people that teared his heart. "Hundreds lined the streets, and gang violence is among them. Why should we spend all of our money on Porsches, or any material wealth, when our downtown areas are full of homeless men, women, and children?" Eaton said to the crowd, as he presented them with over 100 boxes of food and clothes. And after our food drive last month, Eaton wishes to give the homeless people throughout our city over 300 boxes of food and clothes. After this, Eaton says that "Even though I am doing this out of my heart and for the better of the world, I hope that many will vote for me in the upcoming election." Then he jokes, "I am Marcus Eaton and I approve this message."  
To read more, go to: news/local/mayorvisitshomelessagain/  
Watch news channel 8 at 11 AM to see Mayor Eaton visit the Homeless people of Chicago live.

* * *

What a load of BS. There's no way that Marcus would really do that. Then I think about it. We can break into his house and get the file. Surely we can't just break in, though. The mayor of Chicago would have a security system.

So I call Eric.

"Yes, Mrs. Matthews?"

"Oh, hello Eric. Do you still have the key to the Eaton's house?"

"Yeah; it's in my backpack. Do you need it?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."


	24. Chapter 24

**Tris POV:**

On Tuesday, I am reminded by my dad to see Mr. Max after school.

"Yeah, dad. I know. I put a reminder on my phone." I say, rolling my eyes.

Fortunately, my dad doesn't notice my irritated tone. So I hug him goodbye and walk out the door, faking a smile.

"Beatrice, come on," Caleb whines.

'Fine," I tut, "But we're early as it is."

We get in the car and Caleb lectures me, "You are. Erudite club meets half an hour before school starts. And I've told you that many-"

I nod and Caleb is cut off by Flyleaf, as I slip my headphones into my ears, wishing that Four had picked me up so I wouldn't be at school alone.

* * *

"Tris! Just the person I wanted to see!"

I slam my locker shut, with backpack in hand and come face to face with Al, "Now what?"

He smiles at me and I roll my eyes and stuff my math book in my backpack.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

I huff, zip up my backpack, sling it on my shoulder, and turn around, preparing to walk away from Al. But he grabs my shoulder.

"Tris, will you forgive everything I've ever done to you and go out with me?" he asks stately.

I look back at him like he's crazy, "Al! No! Are you crazy? Have you looked into a mirror lately? Or have you forgotten all that you've done to me?!"

I turn around, spotting Four in the distance. He parts with Zeke and walks towards me, from the end of the hall.

But Al doesn't see Four, and he pulls me back again, lunging straight for my lips. I scream and shout, "No!" and hear a running sound in the distance. Then Four punches Al and asks, "Didn't you hear her say no?!"

Then Al lets go of me to fight Four and I slam onto the linoleum. My backpack saves me from hurting my back. Four gets off of Al and rushes over to me, but Al gets there first.

"Tris! Are you okay?" Al says.

"Al, I don't need your help," I say, "And stay away from me, coward, or I _will_ kill you."

He gets up and shakes his head as he walks away. I wipe a tear off my face, and Four sticks out an arm to help me get up, but I push it away.

"I don't need your help either," I say, more angrily than intended.

Then I get up and limp off to Mr. Max's room, with Four's jaw dropping in the distance.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Max, it's just that I-" I start, but stop as soon as I hear two voices.

"Thank you for doing this. Mrs. Matthews really appreciates it," Mr. Max says to Peter. Luckily, they are unaware of my presence.

I back out of the room blushing awkwardly, and go to the water fountain.

Peter comes out smiling. Then he sees me, "Stiff," he murmurs as we pass by each other.

I roll my eyes and push the door open, "Mr. Max?"

"Ah, Tris, come on in!" he says warmly.

I smile. Whatever he was talking about with Peter must have made him happy. Now he won't go as hard on me.

Mr. Max motions for me to sit down across from him. And I do.

"Okay, Tris, let's start where we stopped last week. To determine the number and type of solutions for an equation, you must find the discriminant of a-" he pauses to look at me, "Tris, pay attention."

I nod and get out my notebook.

"Like I was saying, to find the number and type of solutions for an equation, you must find the discriminant of the equation."

He glances back to see me daydreaming. I blink and look at him.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

I look at him, "No," I say uneasily.

"I'm not an English Vocabulary teacher, but only one word comes to mind: Candor. I don't stress the truth, but I can tell that you're lying. Tell me what's up."

"Why were you here with Peter?"

His eyes get big, "He's doing a favor for Mrs. Matthews. What did you hear us say?"

I shrug, "You just thanked him and he walked out. Why? Was there more?"

Mr. Max pretends he doesn't hear me and blinks a few times.

But something else is up. Mr. Max isn't telling me something. He keeps looking at his watch and computer easily.

I blink off the thought, and Mr. Max gets us back onto math.

* * *

_1 Unheard Message_

_Sent today at 2:56 PM_

_*Bleep*_

_"Hi Tris, this is Four. Listen, did I do something to you? 'Cause you seemed kinda upset after school. So, umm...I guess, call me back? I have football practice until 4:30, so, after then I'm free. Hope all's well, bye."_

I sigh. Emotions getting ahead of me again...

I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath. Why did Al have to ruin my life?

One thought comes to mind: Four can help.

So I call him.

*One Ring*

No answer.

*Another ring*

Still no answer.

*A third ring*

Come on Four, pick _up_.

And right before the fourth ring, as if on cue, he picks up.

* * *

**Four POV:**

I'm driving Zeke and Uriah home in the rain in my dad's car.

Thunder booms and Uriah looks out the window. "Crazy weather," he says.

"Must be a passing cloud," Zeke says.

"This? Sounds like a big storm," I say.

Then my phone rings.

I toss my phone to Zeke, "Answer it," I order.

Zeke nods and puts it on speaker phone, "Yo Tris."

"Four? Who is this? How did you know this is me?"

"Calm down, geez. Caller ID. Believe it. And this is Zeke."

"Let me speak to Four," she says.

Zeke passes the phone to me.

I turn it off of speakerphone and talk, "Hi, Tris. It's Four. Look, I'm in a car with a bunch of nutters, so can I call you back, say, in five minutes?"

And as if to prove my point, Uriah shouts, "Hey! I'm not a nutter, Zeke is!"

"You're much more of a nutter than me!" Zeke shouts back.

Uriah slaps him, and Zeke slaps him back.

"Ow! Zeke, you know I have a low pain threshold!"

"Ha! That's just a posh way of saying your soft! Plus, you hit me first!"

I cover my phone with my sleeve and scream, "You two shut up! You're acting like babies! Do you want me to drop you here in the rain?!"

They calm down, at least to whisper-bickering.

"Sorry Tris. Is it okay to call you back?"

"Yeah, I guess," she says after a while. I blow her a kiss and hit the 'end call' button feeling guilty and still unsure about what happened after school.

* * *

Tris POV:

Christina gives me a ride home after her swim team lessons. She has Will and Marlene already stuffed in her Chrysler and I hop in the backseat.

"Hi, everyone," I say.

"Hi Tris! We were just discussing the best fro-yo flavors," Marlene says.

I nod and look to Will, who's playing on his phone in shotgun.

"So...how 'bout that green tea flavor," I say awkwardly.

"I love that flavor. It's so tasty and tastes just like a Moshi ball. I hear that it also helps with your skin too. Like it'll help take away zits and stuff," Christina rambles while turning the car on.

Will yawns and looks weakened by being in a car filled with girls. Then he starts talking. "Chocolate's better," he simply states.

Christina looks at him for a while.

"Christina! Green light! Go!" Marlene shouts.

And even though the windows are up, people turn and stare at us.

Christina smiles innocently and speeds us up the hill.

A few minutes and whole conversation about the best nail polish brands later, Christina pulls up to my driveway. I pull my hood up, sling my backpack over one shoulder, thank her, and tell everyone goodbye.

_Odd._ There's a dark-grey car in the driveway.

When I get to the door, I see Four talking with my mom. I sneak past them, but Four still spots me.

"Hi Tris," he says, "Why don't we go on a walk?"

I look to my mom, who nods eagerly.

So I drop my backpack down and walk out the door with Four.

"Be back by five and be careful!" my mom calls out from behind us.

I laugh to myself and Four smiles nervously.

* * *

"I'm just trying to figure out what I did wrong!" Four shouts stately, through the rain.

Neighbors stare from out their windows and I blush.

"Who says you did anything wrong?"

"Well, I figured that I did, after what happen-"

I wipe away a tear, "Al has ruined me, okay? I overreacted, and I'm sorry, but Al was pissing me off so bad!" By this pint, tears are running down my face in flows and Four holds his arms out. I am hesitant at first, then he hugs me and strokes my now-wet hair.

"No, it was my fault. _I_ should have not overreacted. I'm sorry Tris. And don't worry about Al; if he ever comes near you again, he might as well be dead."

I look up to him, "But I don't get it. I rejected him, like, three times, and he still doesn't realize what he did wrong."

Four shrugs, "Some people just don't get it. They are oblivious to situations, and end up in a bad place in this world. Al is one of them."

"But Al has always been a good friend, until now."

"High school changes everyone, in one way or another."

I nod, and Four walks me home. We kiss at the door and he hugs me.

Then he runs to his car and leaves me smiling.

"Have fun?" my mom says, taking me out of my daze.

I smile and nod eagerly, for the last time this night.

* * *

"Beatrice! Beatrice, get up. Your friends Christina and Will are here," my mom whispers.

"Wha? What time is it?" I say half asleep, pulling my blanket up.

"Three in the morning. But if you don't want to go to school tomorrow, you don't have to. Now get up. They said it's an emergency."

I slowly get up and stumble down the stairs, seeing Christina and Will at our dining room table. They have a box of tissues and two glasses of water in front of them. Will is rubbing Christina's back.

"What's wrong?" I asks awkwardly.

"It's...it's Al, Tris. Al's gone," Christina says.

"What do you mean?"

"They found his body in Lake Michigan," Will states.

"You don't seem sad," I say to him.

"I was taught as a child that life and death are parts of life and that we need to accept them."

I nod, and a tear runs down my face. Even after what Al did, he was still my friend for a few years. A great one too.

I wipe the tear away, but another one replaces it.

"Did you see the body?" I ask.

Christina nods, "It was too big. For the body bag, I mean." She laughs awkwardly, but it turns into a cough.

I half smile, but it sneaks across my face. "Your last memory of him is certainly reminding of other ones," I say, but hold back my tongue, which is wanting to say, 'At least you last memory of him is funny.'

Will and Christina smile.

"I know he got on your nerves Tris, but Al wasn't a half bad friend. I went to pre-school with him. Always knocking over the foam towers we built," Christina says.

Will smiles and rubs her back.


	25. Chapter 25

**Jeanine POV:**

"I don't care if you have to miss Albert's memorial service today," I growl into the phone, "Just get the job done. You said you would, now do you want detention or not?"

"No, ma'am," Peter says. I can feel the nervousness in his voice.

"Anyways, Marcus has a few choices, which most can land him in trouble. He can either go to the memorial, but that means that he will not be visiting the homeless, thus the city may think that he does not keep promises. Marcus could go to the homeless shelters only, but he has been to them before, so people may imply that he is only focused on the needs of only one group of the citizens. Or if Marcus is smart enough, he will make time for both. We want him to only may time for one, and crush his reputation. Is that clear?"

"Of course miss," he says. Then he clears his throat and continues, "But don't you think that, with my reputation and all, people will grow suspicious on why Eric and I aren't at school today?"

I shrug, "You're sick and Eric has been gone the whole week, planning this. Follow what he says. Do not mess up, or question me or Eric, or the consequences will be horrendous."

I hear him gulp, "Yes, Mrs. Matthews."

"I have to go now; the service is in an hour, at nine, and people are already coming."

* * *

**Tris POV:**

After Will and Christina leave, my mom tells me to go back to bed. I nod and drift off.

"Beatrice. Beatrice, wake up," my mom whispers.

"Now wha?" I say through my pillow.

"It's 7:30. If you want to go to school, get up. If not, go back to sleep."

I'm not going to school, but I get up anyways.

I get a bowl of oatmeal and sit down with my mom, talking about what happened.

"Beatrice, you coming?" Caleb asks.

I shake my head and Caleb walks out the door.

"Beatrice? Are you okay? I know Al was one of your good friends, but-" my mom starts.

But I cut her off, "Al _was_ one of my good friends. And that's the thing. He...he-" I manage to stutter out, unsure of how to explain things to my mom.

She rubs my back, "I know what was going between you two. Al explained everything."

My mouth falls open.

"Beatrice, Al asked if you were mad at him. He wanted forgiveness."

I wipe a tear away. That's not_ all_ he had to say.

And I feel like his death is my fault.

* * *

"Four, I know you won't be at Al's memorial, so I'll be stopping by your house. Bye for now, I guess?" I say, 'leaving a message at the tone' for Four. He must not be doing anything.

I walk to his house. His dad's car is gone, but Four's Harley is there. An unfamiliar car is parallel parked in the driveway.

I decide to take a chance and knock on the door. "Four?" I ask.

No one answers, so I peek into the window.

No one's there.

I push the door open, and hear a bit of commotion.

"Four?" I ask.

No one responds.

Then, a voice whispers, "Get down."

I look down to see Four hiding up against the wall, squashed between the wall and the couch.

"Four?" I whisper. Then I crouch down next to him.

"Eric and Peter are in Marcus' room."

"What?"

"Keep your voice down."

I change it back to a whisper, "Doing what?"

"All I saw is that they have guns and are on his computer. It makes sense, today Marcus is visiting the homeless shelters and everyone at school is focused on Al's memorial. It's planned out nicely for them-"

"I knew you wouldn't be there."

"Neither would you."

I shrug, "I...don't know how to pay my respects...or if I even have any."

I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth.

Four looks at me, but doesn't say anything.

"I...I didn't mean that."

"Ah," he says.

But I don't believe him.

And nor do I blame him.

* * *

"So...what do we do?" I ask.

We've been sitting here for the past twenty minutes, and Eric and Peter are still upstairs. They don't realize that Four and I are down here.

Yet.

"Well," he starts, "We have two options."

"...Which are...?"

He scowls at me, "I'm getting to that."

"We could follow them out when they leave and follow them back to where they came from."

I shake my head, "They'd see us."

"How?"

"All they'd have to do is look into the rear-view mirror and spot us on your motorcycle. Eric notices everything, and besides, everyone knows what the varsity quarterback's motorcycle looks like."

Four nods.

"_The point is_, they would figure out that one, it's us, and two, we're following them. And people must be missing us back at school anyways."

He points up, "And people don't miss them...?"

"Well, we were really close to Al and everyone at school used to see him sitting at our table."

"So now you and Al are friends?"

"Four, please. We need to stay on task."

"Fine," he snaps, "Now what's our plan?"

Just then, the noise upstairs stops.

"Four, please," I whisper, "Keep your voice down."

Then the noise continues and we let out breaths of air at the same time.

He looks at me then smiles, trying to lighten the mood, "You're sexy when you're stressed, you know?"

I smirk, "Tell Caleb that next time you see him."

Four kisses my cheek, "I just might."

I shoot him a smile, and he pulls back. But when he leans back in, I push him away. "So obviously, your other option wouldn't work."

"How do you know what it-"

"I know enough about you to know that you will have a subtle plan and also one that only 'The Dauntless Nation' would put together."

He nods, "I take pride in my band. And yes you got that right."

I look at him skeptically.

"And _yes_, just running in and smashing their heads through the walls wouldn't work."

I smile, "You know me so well by now."

He smirks, "Not as much as you know me."

I lean in to kiss him when a shouting noise comes from upstairs. A voice yells, saying that they need to hurry up.

I get up, and Four follows.

"Where are we going?" he whispers.

'To save your dad's precious city," I reply.

He looks at me funny.

when we get outside, I see that Eric and Peter have forgotten to lock their car. So I open the front seat and press a button that unlocks the trunk.

"Get in the trunk," I say to Four.

He looks at me for a minute, then nods.

"I'll be there in a minute," I say.

He leaves.

I search around the front seats and find a note near one of the cup holders. It reads, 'Eric and Peter, Call the number below for help with opening Marcus' files. (872) 555-8773 Thanks again, Mrs. Matthews'

I gasp, and back away. That's Caleb's cell phone number.

* * *

**A/N: Did anybody notice the Bruno Mars quote from "The Lazy Song"?**


	26. Chapter 26

**Four POV:**

I sit in Eric's car with the trunk 3/4 of the way closed. I look at my watch and stare up, at the black covering. Then someone opens the trunk lid. I hold my breath in, until Tris slips in and closing the trunk, she slides next to me.

"Hi," she breathes, "Sorry I took so long."

I shrug. Then I see what looks like a gun in her hand. "Tris, what's that?"

"A...a revolver. Tobias, there was this big box full of them, and I don't think they'd notice if I took one." She slips it into my hand, "You never know what could happen."

I gulp, "Do you really think so?"

"Why else would Eric and Peter have so many?"

"Well, um...you see..." I stammer.

"They're no better than us," she says, up against my chest.

I nod and enjoy this moment of peace. It seems like it'll be the last one for a while.

Then Tris breaks the silence, "Four, can I use your phone?"

"Course."

She dials a number and after a while she starts talking into the phone angrily.

**Tris POV:**

I dial Caleb's number into Four's phone. Luckily, it is labeled as an unknown, new number to the phone.

It's a good thing that it's too dark for Four to see my face. I can feel my cheeks heating up, and all I can think of is how on earth Caleb can and would do such a thing by helping these...these bastards!

Then Caleb picks up, "Eric? Is that you? Well, I need you to get out of there. The housekeeper is supposed to be coming to Mr. Eaton's house, and Mrs. Matthews is running out of time. Plus-"

"Caleb, stop," I say firmly.

"Y-you're not Eric, or Peter, are you?" he asks weakly.

"No, this is Tris. Now why are you helping Mrs. Matthews? Tell me, because no one's getting anything good out of it."

"Beatrice?"

"Yes, Caleb. Did you hear me, or not?!" I say, getting madder by the second.

He sounds stressed. "Yes, but...well, Beatrice, forget what I said. It's too dangerous for-"

"Oh, so it's too dangerous for me, but not for you?!"

"Beatrice, just listen to me for once-"

I zone out, as soon as Four taps my shoulder.

"Eric and Peter are coming," he whispers, "I can hear the front door's hinges swing open."

I nod.

"What was that?" Caleb asks through the phone.

"What did you hear?" I ask, lowering my voice.

"Nothing. Just, was that Four?"

"Yes. As if it matters to you..."

I can hear him sigh, "Just...don't do anything mom and dad wouldn't approve of. Is Four at home with you?"

"No, we're not at home right now."

"Where are you then? Your friends are missing your presence, along with Four's."

I feel guilty for a second, then smile, "We're, uh, taking a little road trip. Why?"

I can hear Four snicker in the background.

Then Caleb responds, "Just wondering."

I can feel him calculating where I am in his head.

"Well, forget what I said when I thought you were Eric."

"Mhmm..."

"And, stay out of their way. I know you're not on the road-"

"Yet," I add.

"Yeah, yeah. Just, be good, okay?"

"I don't need your advice."

"Whatever..."

"Umm...can I call you back?" I ask, then end the call and hand the phone to Four, just as someone opens the trunk lid.

"I told you, Eric, people will see our guns in the backseat. They might get suspicious," Peter says.

Luckily both him and Eric are not facing towards us.

"So? They can't do anything-" Eric starts.

But Peter interrupts him, "Unless the police notice."

"Right. Like that's gonna happen," Eric says sarcastically. Then his voice turns serious, "I told you before we came to put the window covers on. Did you?"

Peter nods meekly.

"Good," Eric growls, before slamming the trunk, causing Four and I to slam into and hug each other tightly. Eric then walks towards the front of the car. He gets in the driver's seat, and yells for Peter to shut the door and get his ass in the car.

Peter soon gets in and Eric starts the car. They begin to talk about Marcus.

"Mrs. Matthews was right," Eric says, his voice muffled by the seat cushioning, "Marcus is a terrible leader. It's so evident now. I mean, who else would just tell all of Chicago that we've got terrible gang problems? Everyone knows that, and now he just wants to go releasing all of the scary details to the public."

Peter seems to agree with this, "He_ is_ terrible, and Mrs. Matthews said that he beats his son."

"Four?" Eric is shocked by this.

"Yeah, and I also heard that he bribes his councilmen."

"That doesn't make any sense, dingus. First off, they could just bail out on him and leave. Second, do you know what kinds of rumors and publicity that they could spread about Marcus if they wanted to? A lot. And the reason they don't is because they remain faithful to that bastard."

"Yeah, well, it's just a rumor," Peter says defending himself. Then he changes the subject. "Did you hear that the Stiff's dad works with Marcus?"

Eric nods, "Yeah. And her brother the smarty-"

"Caleb," Peter interjects.

"Right. Caleb knows everything about Marcus. Apparently he got over-protective of his sister, researched him, and found his record. Apparently he told everyone he went to a monastery to focus on 'self healing' for four years, when in reality, he was at a rehab center to help with his drinking problems."

"Damn. That kid is good."

"Yeah, but he's _really_ wimpy. I saw him try to fight another guy once over an argument about the solar eclipse or something and he ended up breaking his thumb after throwing one punch."

Eric thinks that this is the funniest thing and laughs so hard. So hard, that he swerves the car.

"Watch out man!" Peter shouts.

I slam into Four and the car turns sideways and stops.

"Damn!" Eric shouts, "There's been a cop behind us this whole time.

I look to Four and he mouths, "Now what?"

I shrug and cross my fingers.

Eric must be talking to the cop, because Peter says, "I'll go check if there's any damage."

Then he opens up the trunk lid, and sees us. I smile uneasily.

"What are you doing here?!" he whispers furiously, "Are you trying to get killed?"

I shake my head, "I was checking on Four when you guys were upstairs."

Peter nods, "Well, remember when we were freshmen, and you helped me on that math test?"

I nod.

"Well, I was sorting through my old papers yesterday, and I found it. Now get out of here."

I look at him questionably.

"Leave! Eric'll see you! The debt's been payed off, what more do you want?!"

I shrug, and look back to Four.

"Let's go," he says.

We hop out of the trunk, and walk away.

I turn back to Peter and mouth "Thanks."

He smiles and closes the trunk, just as the police officer is handing Eric a ticket.


	27. Chapter 27

**Peter POV:**

Once Eric gets the ticket, we spend the rest of the way on the road hearing him badmouth cops.

Thankfully, we only stopped a mile away from school, and Eric soon pulls into the parking lot. We get out, and sneak into the main office, nowhere near the gym, where Al's memorial is being held.

"Ah, good. You two got here safely," Mrs. Matthews says. She then leads us towards the faculty room, where a meeting is being held.

I nod and shrug while Eric glares ahead.

"Eric sweetie? What's wrong?" she asks her nephew.

He looks away, just like a child. "Parking ticket."

"Well if all goes well, I'll be more than happy to pay it. How much? Fifty dollars? A hundred?"

"Seventy-five."

"Ah," she nods.

Then she looks to me. "You have the data on a flash drive?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good."

We turn the corner and come to the faculty room. Mrs. Matthews pushes the door open and we see most of the members of the Erudite club and Mr. Max.

"Uh, Mrs. Matthews?" Eric asks.

"Yes Eric?"

"What happened to the other members? Like Fernando and Elia. And Cara. Don't forget Cara. We never start meetings without her."

Mrs. Matthews sits down, "Well, Eric. That's the grand question. What happened to them? I asked them to come and they said that they would rather go to Al's memorial. They've been quite distant lately, and I figured that I'd let them go. So if everyone in here is okay with this, I'm offering you, Eric, Cara's position."

Everyone in the room nods, and Eric smiles.

"I take it that's a yes," Mrs. Matthews says, hurrying things along.

Eric nods, as if he's still taking this all in. I shake his hand and he smiles. He goes up and sits next to Mrs. Matthews.

"Well, moving along," Mrs. Matthews starts. Then she looks at me, "Peter, I'm also offering you a new position. How would you like to be our new Publicity Officer? You would make forms and flyers for our club, and in September, you would help get new students to join, with the flyers. You could even run for President, once Eric graduates."

I nod, "That'd be cool." I guess I'm still in shock, if that's all I have the courage to say. And that does make sense; no one has ever trusted me this much before, even if my parents are trustworthy neighborhood-watch people.

"Well then, club, let's welcome our new President, Eric, and Publicity Officer, Peter!"

Everyone claps and some people bang their fists on the tables and shout our names.

Then someone knocks on the door.

Mr. Max goes to open it.

"Oh, hi, Caleb. C'mon in; we're just getting started."

Caleb walks in and Eric and I keep ourselves from laughing too hard.

"Hello, Mrs. Matthews," Caleb says, "Have you gotten the data from Marcus yet?"

Mrs. Matthews nods, then turns to Eric and me.

"I believe you want to talk to these gentlemen," she says.

Eric nods at me, and I stand up casually.

"Peter, Caleb will hack into the files, and you are to take notes. One day you will be doing that. Then you are to email me the data and it will go to my husband's campaign advisory board, so be sure you give me all of it."

I nod and follow Caleb into a bare-walled office. He sits down and I soon find myself daydreaming.

* * *

**Tris POV:**

Four and I run for a good ten minutes, before looking back and unconsciously deciding to stop. We sit down at a curb with dry throats.

Then Four stands up, "I'm gonna go find some water. Coming?"

I nod and we walk into the closest building. It's a tattoo shop, and before we can walk out, a woman comes out.

"Welcome to D For Dauntless Tattoos and Piercings Parlor. How may I help you?"

"Tori?" I ask.

She nods, "Tris? Four? What are you guys doing here?"

"Well..." I unsuccessfully start.

Then Four comes to my rescue, "We were out running and are looking for water."

Tori nods and leaves the room. A minute later, she comes back with three ice-cold water bottles. She takes one and sits down, opening it and motioning for us to sit down.

"Long day," she says after taking a long sip, "I would be at Albert's memorial, but to be honest I barely knew the kid and Bud won't be very happy if I miss any more hours. I did pop by, but since my brother's death, I'm not very good about the whole "dying" concept. Leave that to the Erudite club, thank you very much."

Four and I look at each other in shock and nod, as if understanding what Tori had just said.

"Well, Tori," he starts, breaking the silence, "I'd like another tattoo please."

She nods and knocks on a door that says 'Employees Only'. A minute later, a black-haired girl comes out and starts to draw flames on Four's back.

I put my water down and look onto a wall that is covered in tattoo designs.

Behind me, Tori clears her throat, "Anything I can get you, Tris?"

I start to shake my head, but hear myself saying, "Yes, actually. Three ravens for my family." I point to where I want them and Tori gets out her sketchbook.

While she's drawing, I find myself staring at Four's back. Not at his muscles, but his tattoos. I love how they look, and even if Four is just a guy, _my_ guy, I want some of his tattoos.

"Tori?" I ask.

"Yes?" she responds, not even looking up from her sketchbook.

"Can I have two more?"

"Mhmm."

So then once she's done with the ravens, Tori draws two hands reaching out for each other and flames.

Two hours, six water bottles, four tattoos, and pained neck, shoulders, and collarbone later, we are done.

"That'll be $389.98, with the student discount," Tori says as we are at the register.

"What student discount?" I ask.

Tori puts a finger to her mouth. "Shh," she says.

Four and I smile thankfully.

I bring my hand to my wallet, but Four stops me. "Save your money," he says, "I'll get it."

He takes out a Chase Sapphire and swipes it.

"Thanks," I say.

Tori gives him the receipt and says to me, "He's a keeper."

I giggle as we walk out and walk back to my house.

"Hey, isn't that one of your dad's signs?" Four asks.

I look onto the grass. The gray and blue sign says 'Elect Andrew Prior for City Council Position Number Seven.'

I nod, 'I remember putting those up in July; my dad gave me twenty dollars for sticking them up all over our neighborhood."

Four shakes his head, "Look closer."

And I do.

Then I gasp. The once perfectly simple gray sign is now covered in blue spray paint, that vaguely says 'Piss off Prior."

Four rubs my back. "Did your dad see?"

I shrug, then take a picture with my phone to show him later.

Then we start walking again.

"I can't believe somebody would do that-" I start, to break the silence, but Four's cell phone rings, cutting me off.

"It's Marcus," he says after checking.

I nod and sit down on the edge of the sidewalk as Four answers the phone stiffly.

* * *

**Four POV:**

I press the 'answer call' button on my phone and brace myself for an angry Marcus.

"Tobias," he spits out. I can hear the venom in his voice, "After visiting the homeless, I came back home to some _very_ disturbing sights. _What_ did _you_ do?"

"I didn't do anything," I say shakily. I hope he doesn't notice the distress in my voice.

"Don't think I believe that, young man, because, believe me, I know that it's not the truth. Now I thought you did not go to school today. Don't tell me you lied. Now _where_ are you?"

"I'm with Tris," I say.

"Beatrice? Andrew Prior's daughter?"

"Yeah."

"Take good care of her; Andrew is one of my most faithful councilmen that I don't want to lose. So I'll pay for her Homecoming dress."

I nod, shocked.

Then Marcus continues, "Tell me where you and this 'Beatrice' are."

"We've gone for a walk and are going back to her house."

He stays quiet for a minute, then he speaks, "So you have no idea whatsoever of what happened at home?"

I gulp, "Why? What happened at home?"

He shakes the thought away, "Fine, but boy, you better be telling the truth, or you know what's gonna happen."

I gulp again and click the 'end call' button.

"You okay?" Tris asks.

I nod and we walk back to her house.

* * *

**Andrew POV:**

I stand pacing the room.

"Andrew, calm down. You're making it seem much bigger than it is," Natalie patiently says.

"If only," I mutter back.

She rubs my back, "Andrew," she says gently, "Beatrice is out with Four. She texted me earlier."

"More like a few hours ago."

"She probably just lost track of time-"

Then Beatrice bursts through the door and hurries up the stairs, Tobias following.

"Tobias," I mutter, "God knows what he's doing to our daughter's mind."

Natalie casts me a disapproving glance. "He likes to be called 'Four,' you know. And Beatrice is smart enough to make decisions for herself. Remember when she started babysitting for our neighborhood? We didn't even have to ask, she took initiative all on her own and donated the money to teenagers with drug abuse. Besides, we've known Marcus for years, and he's never let us down."

I suddenly stop pacing, and sit down with my head in my hands.

"Andrew? What is it? Did I say something that offended you?"

I shake my head, and look at Natalie. "Do you think it's too early to think about retirement?"

She looks at me, "Well, is something at work bothering you? Tell me."

I gulp, and think the only way to tell her is to tell the whole truth. So I do. "Well, after the attacks that Jeanine has released on Marcus and our children, it seems that everyone has listened and believed them. And it seems that Dan Matthews might just win the election."

"Even after Marcus' charity work and everything?"

I nod, "Earlier today, more reports have come out. Everything from Marcus' drinking problems and beating Tobias, to his criminal record and his keeping secrets from the public about the gang violence. And so I was thinking, though it _was_ selfish of me, I don't want to work for that self-righteous power-hungry Dan Matthews! Sorry, but I just had to tell someone this."

Natalie rubs my back as I continue, "And so I was thinking. Say Marcus does win, and for the next four years, I would have the same position, if I do win for Position Number Seven, that is. But if Marcus loses, either I lose, or I quit. I heard they're looking for volunteers at the Homeless Shelter anyways."

Natalie nods, and I know that she will respect my wishes.

Then Tobias runs down the stairs.

"Sir," he says, "Your daughter is barfing in the bathroom."

Natalie looks at me for a second, then races up the stairs after Tobias.

Shortly after, I follow.

**A/N I know this sounds cliche, but I read your reviews and take them seriously. So tell me what you think and if I need to add a character's POV more or change anything, or what I should write for the next chapter! Questions, comments, and even flames are greatly appreciated. Thanks! :D**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N Quotes from** **Insurgent are used in this chapter, but it doesn't really make a difference if you've read the book or not. But still, I'd recommend it! :D**

**Disclaimer: If I looked in a mirror, I'd see me, a short blonde teenager with hazel eyes. Not Veronica Roth! **

**Tris POV:**

Once Tobias and I get home, we sit on my bed, eat Skittles, and talk.

"Four!" I say, "You took all the red ones!"

He shrugs, then takes another handful, "Told you I like them. Deal with it."

I playfully shove him, and he just goes back for more Skittles.

"So..." he begins, awkwardly starting conversation, "What did Caleb say to you on the phone?"

"Well he started saying_ 'Eric you need to get out of there because their housekeeper is coming.'_" I say, imitating Caleb in a high-pitched voice. Then I continue, "That must have been a code-word for something else. Then I told him that I'm not Eric and he was all like _'Forget what I said Beatrice. It's too dangerous for you and be careful around Four. He's a bad boy.'_"

Four bursts out laughing, and I hit his arm again, "Stop it! It's not funny! What if Caleb is a criminal?!"

Four shrugs, "So? It's not like you'd care either way." Then he takes the rest of the bag and empties them into his hand, eating four or five every second.

"I would care too!"

"So far you haven't."

"Yeah, well..."

"I'll be counting the minutes until you come up with a good come-back," he jokes.

I roll my eyes. "Give me a lemon Skittle please."

He throws one at my mouth, but it hits my nose.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Trissy."

"Don't call me that!"

"Fine," he huffs, before throwing one that actually lands in my mouth. "Touchdown!" he screams.

"Quiet," I whisper, "My parents are downstairs." Then I choke on the Skittle.

Four suddenly loses his goofiness and asks, "Are you okay?"

"No," I breathe. "I'm choki-" I manage to say, before erupting in a fit of coughs.

He pounds on my back, then helps me to the bathroom, where I end up barfing in the toilet.

Four runs downstairs and comes back up with my mother.

"Honey, are you alright?" she asks worriedly. She puts her hand to my forehead and mutters, "You've not gotten a fever."

Then my dad walks in. "Beatrice?" he asks, "You okay?"

I nod, "Just choked on Skittles."

"Beatrice," he says furiously, "You know how I feel about you eating those. It's selfish of you."

Thankfully, my mom comes to my rescue, "Andrew, she's had a hard day. I think we can let this one go."

He nods and walks out with my mom trailing behind.

Then Four comes and sits down beside me. He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I'd still only go to your funeral if there was cake," he whispers.

I laugh, then brush my teeth and flush the toilet, and end up falling asleep on my bed with Four's arm protectively around me.

* * *

About and hour later, I wake up to Caleb shaking his head in disapproval.

"Caleb? What are you doing in my room?" I ask suspiciously.

"What are you doing with Four?" he shoots back.

"What does it looks like?" I ask, then look back to Four, who's still sleeping peacefully.

"Something Mom and Dad would not approve of," he mutters under his breath.

I roll my eyes and walk out of the room. "I'm gonna go help Mom with dinner. And if Four wakes up, just remember that he's the mayor's son."

And with that, I go downstairs. But I swear I could hear Caleb muttering "Not for long."

I shake the thought off and walk into the kitchen.

"Oh, Beatrice! Feeling any better?" my mom says.

I nod and grab a glass of water, that thankfully, does not make me choke. I take a sip before opening a pack of frozen peas and putting them in a pan on the stovetop.

We soon become so concentrated on cooking that time seems to fly by. About twenty minutes later, the phone rings.

My mom gets up to answer it. "Hello?" she says, "Oh, hi, Marcus...Yes, Tobias is here...I think he's staying here for dinner...What time will he be home? Gee, to be honest, I don't know. Seven o'clock? Eight? That is, if he stays. " She talks for a few more minutes, and I silently panic and hope that they are not talking about what happened today at Marcus' house.

A few minutes later, my mom hangs up smiling and puts chicken on a platter. Then she speaks up, "Beatrice, will you go tell Caleb that dinner's ready? I would appreciate if he would set the table. And ask Four if he will be staying for dinner."

I nod and go upstairs.

But before I answer the door, I hear Four talking. I pause, listening intently.

"No, not like _that_," Four says, trying to stile his laughter.

Then Caleb speaks, "What do you mean 'not like that'? I imitated you perfectly."

"You did not."

"Well, do it again, then."

I push open the door just as Four, who is sitting on the carpet with one leg stretched out, throws a dart at Peter's yearbook picture from last year, which is pinned to the dart board. The dart sticks, handle out, at Peter's third eye (his forehead). Four smiles in satisfaction. He could not look more relaxed.

Caleb looks at the dartboard, then Four, then at the dartboard again, shocked. Then he looks at me.

"Tell me he's some kind of military prodigy," he says, "Can you do this too?"

I shrug and pick up a dart. After a few tries, I manage to get a dart in Peter's face. Then I answer Caleb's question.

"Yes, _Four _is some sort of prodigy." I smile. Caleb doesn't know that Four wears his sports expertise all the time in his nickname. Then I turn to Four. "Isn't your uncle like a colonel or something in the army?"

He nods, "Four star General actually. When I was young he was my hero. He used to call me 'Little Four.' Marcus always says I look like him, which he hates because his younger brother is more accomplished then him."

"Still, mayor is pretty good. But may I ask _why_ you're throwing darts?"

"Caleb came by to discuss something," Four starts, "And football came up. Dart throwing is how I learned to throw a ball. But may I ask _why_ you have a picture of Peter in your room?"

I'd normally expect Four to be jealous, but with all that's happened, I know that he knows that Peter has not, does not, and will not have a crush on me. And Four knows I know that.

"Well," I say, "Peter slipped me his picture last year, and this was the best place I could find for it."

Four smiles at this. We stare at each other dreamily, longer than is socially acceptable, before Caleb clears his throat.

Then I remember what I came here for, "Caleb, dinner's ready. Mom wants you to set the table. Four and I will be down in a few minutes."

Caleb eyes us suspiciously before I point to the door and he walks out, closing the door behind him.

"What was Caleb doing in here?" I ask, breaking the silence, "He knows that I _detest_ him in here."

"He asked how we got together, then we started talking about school."

I nod, and Four puts his arms around me. And his lips find mine.

For a minute, I forget why I came here.

And for a minute, I don't care.

I wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer. We break apart, breathing heavily.

Four kisses me again, more instant this time, his hands squeezing my waist. We are so close that there is no difference between us.

Then he pulls back-but only a few inches. I almost don't let him get that far.

"This isn't what you came here for," he says.

"No."

"What did you come for, then?"

"Who cares?" I push my fingers through his hair, and let myself get distracted by him. We kiss for a minute, but break apart when he speaks.

"Tris," he mumbles, warningly against my cheek.

"Okay, okay," I say. I close my eyes. I _did_ come here for some reason, and I need to tell him.

We sit side by side on my bed, as I ask him about his phone call with Marcus.

Four explains everything, from getting yelled at to explaining where he was.

"So then he wants to buy your Homecoming dress, to make sure that your dad's on his side."

I huff out air, and lay down. Four lays next to me.

I stare at the ceiling, before speaking up, "I already bought my dress."

"Can I see it?" Four asks. Then he explains, "I have to get a tie to match."

I roll my eyes, "No! You gotta wait, like any other gentleman."

Four nods.

I tap my fingers against my chest, buying time. "It's dark gray and navy blue," I tell him, like I'm revealing a big scret.

He nods.

I look at the time. 5:34. It was 5:12 when I left.

"Crap. We gotta go downstairs," I say, before getting up.

Four obediently follows, and we make our way downstairs. I see my family just sitting down at the table, and my mom telling Caleb to get Four and me.

We walk towards the table, when I stop in my tracks, and remember what I came upstairs for.

"Oh, yeah. Hey Four, are you staying for dinner?"


	29. Chapter 29

**Tris POV:**

After a minute, Four responds.

"Yeah, of course. But I need to tell Marcus."

Then my mom interrupts. "Four, your dad already called," she says gently, "And it's fine. Stay as long as you like. Knowing you two, you'll be up half the night talking. Shall we eat?"

We do, and Four leaves early, claiming that it's a school night and he's got homework anyways.

"Night, Tris," he says through a yawn.

"Goodnight, Four. Don't get beat up _too_ bad," I tell him.

He looks back to see if I'm joking or not. I hold back a smirk, but I can tell that it's a touchy subject for him, especially since what Marcus told him earlier. So I keep my face dead straight.

We kiss each other goodnight, and I watch him walk home for the first few steps, before turning around and closing the door, smiling contently.

* * *

The next day, everyone seems to be down. Even Christina keeps a sad face on.

"I still can't believe it. He's really gone. I mean, I know he did hurt you Tris, but no one was really expecting this. Were you?" she asks.

I shake my head.

"Say, why weren't you at the service yesterday?"

I shrug, and before I can answer, Christina keeps talking, "And neither was Four. Were you guys like too sad to go, or what? Or maybe you payed your respects by going to the Lake and seeing everything. It really was horrible, you know, and don't beat yourself up about it..."

Before I can, and have the courage to, tell her that I haven't got any respects, the bell rings and I say goodbye and walk to math class.

During lunch, I finally get so sick of it. All of it. Everybody moping around, Eric calling Al's death 'honorable' and making us say a great memory about him during Public Speaking, and Christina crying between every single class. For once, I wish she'd go back to talking about hair styles for the dance and going on about Will's great dancing skills in a class they'd taken together to learn how to dance. and improve their relationship

I slam my bag down and munch on a granny smith apple and glare ahead, blocking out all noises.

"Where'd you go during math?" Four asks, "Mr. Adams kept going on about how long you were taking and was about to ask Susan to go find you."

I look at him, "I went to the nurse to get aspirin for my headache."

He nods and doesn't say anything for a minute.

And I silently hope that he will continue not to.

I tap my fingers against the table.

But it creates more noise and I end up putting my head in my hands.

Four looks to me, then to all our grieving friends at the next table, then at the whole cafeteria. "Wanna cut school?" he asks.

I smile. "I thought you'd never ask."

We go to our lockers and I grab my purse, which has my wallet, phone, and lip balm in it. Four puts his binder in his locker and we head out.

* * *

"Where to?" I ask, when we push open the doors and let them slide closed.

Four shrugs, "I don't know." He gets on his motorcycle, then speaks up, "Where do you want to go?"

I shrug, "Anywhere but here."

He looks at me desperately, like if we don't leave now, we'll get caught.

"Fine. Navy Pier," I say hurriedly.

Four nods and drives us away. At the first intersection, he stops rapidly, and I slam into his chest.

"Oh, my god, Four. I'm so sorry. I know you have tattoos and all-"

But I don't think he felt it because he shushes me and drives away.

When we get to the Navy Pier Four parks his motorcycle at the furthest parking stall from the entrance.

"You did that on purpose," I say suspiciously, once we get off his bike.

"Maybe," he teases in a sing-songy voice.

He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer. Then he whispers in my ear, "'Cause I know you _hate_ walking."

"And so do you," I add.

He smiles and I know that, even with whatever Marcus did to him last night, he is happy and content for now.

"So, what first?" asks, once we pay and get inside.

"Umm, the Farris Wheel?" I suggest.

Four takes in a shaky breath and nods.

But before he goes any closer to it, I stop him. "What is it?"

"Heights," he says weakly.

"Well, we can do something els-" I begin, but Four cuts me off.

"No," he says firmly, "You decided on this, so I'll just ignore my fear."

Once Four has made up his mind, there's no going back so I nod and rub his back.

"It's okay," I say, while tugging on his shirt. "We _really_ don't have to."

"No," he repeats, "I'll ignore my fear. I do it all the time." Then he looks up to see how high it is, and he looks down at the ground.

"It's okay. We don't have to do this. You know, I really don't want to anymo-"

I start to say, before the guy who's running it calls who's next.

Four drags me forward, staring ahead, and we reluctantly get on.

"Kiss me," I say, once we start rising.

"What?"

"Kiss me. Forget about where we are, or what we're doing up here. Kiss me. Forget your fear, forget about Marcus, and kiss me."

He doesn't hesitate.

We make out for a minute, after breaking apart breathing heavily.

"Over there," I say.

I look ahead, but Four just looks down.

"Hey," I whisper, "Look ahead. Looking down won't help your case, so look over there, at the booth. It looks like you have to find a flag and shoot at it with a paintball gun or grab it. Let's go there next."

Four nods silently.

Then the wheel stops moving.


	30. Chapter 30

**Four POV:**

"I think we should climb down."

I look at her like she's crazy.

But that doesn't matter. What matters is that her idea makes sense, and her safety is what I value most right now. Not my reputation. And certainly not Marcus.

"Tris, don't you think we should think this through?"

She shakes her head, "Then wheel's stopped for a good five minutes, if not more by now. And even if it starts again, they'll stop it before we get hurt."

"Who?" I don't care if it's a stupid question. Right now I don't care.

"The employees here...?" She acts like it's a stupid question. And it is. But I still don't care.

She looks down, then at me. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna start climbing down." And with that, she exits the gondola that we are in and descends downward.

I look at her, huff, then mutter, "Oh, for god's sake Stiff," before following her.

She looks up to me, and stops for a minute. "I heard that."

"Heard what?" _Act innocent, Tobias._

"Peter's nickname he gave me on the first day we met. Stiff."

She says it matter-of-factly, but rolls her eyes and continues climbing down.

I find places for my feet effortlessly and I'm able to climb down with ease. Even so, my hands grip the bars so that my knuckles turn white and my hands grasp each bar, in fear that if I miss one, the pain from falling will be far worse than anything Marcus could do. Above me, I can hear Tris navigating her way between the bars. Her movements are small, so smaller than mine. With deep breaths, I quickly pass her by.

But I stop, just as a loud clanging noise fills the air around us. I look up and duck, just barely getting out of the way for a metal bar to come loose. It clatters against half a dozen bars on the way down before falling to the ground. I turn my attention to Tris and we barely make eye contact before I gasp.

Tris dangles in midair, her small feet frantically searching for a foothold. But the nearest one is a few feet away and out of her reach. My heart beats so loudly in my head that I can hardly think rationally, but I know I have to act fast.

Tris' eyes fill with fear like mine as she suppresses a scream.

She's slipping.

* * *

I quickly climb down, my eyes never leaving Tris'. The crowd must think I'm either a bad boyfriend or mentally insane, judging by the looks they give me. But I ignore them and focus on my descent.

"Four!" Tris screams in desperation.

"Hold on!" I shout back, "J-just hold on! I have an idea."

She looks frightened, but has the same look as some of the crowd members.

After a minute, she screams again, louder this time, "Four!"

I quickly drop myself onto the ground, and push the guy controlling the Farris Wheel out of the way.

He gives me the same look and I just roll my eyes.

_Just give me a minute Tris,_ I think to myself, _Just give me a minute to rescue you. Let me prove that I can save you._

My eyes glaze over the multi-colored buttons as I try to make sense of what each one does. I press my palm into one labeled 'power,' and press another one labeled 'start.'

It doesn't work at first.

So the employee taps my shoulder. "With all due respect sir, we've tried that already. As with tons of other strategies. But the Fire Department is on its way, and they'll save your girlfriend, along with everyone else. You know, you don't _always_ have to be the hero."

I keep my hands where they are, in hope that the Wheel turns on. But I think about what the guy said. There are plenty of opportunities for everyone to prove themselves, and if the time is right, an opportunity presents itself. But why can't mine be now?

Then the Farris Wheel turns on.

I watch it carry Tris to the ground. It's fast, but not fast enough.

She runs and hugs me, just as the Fire Department comes towards the wheel.

The next few minutes that go by are a blur to me. Tris kisses me repeatedly and tries to say 'my hero' in as many languages as she can. Though she won't admit it, I can tell that she's related to Caleb. Lots of people pass by us, and a bunch of seniors say that we look like such a cute couple. A little kid asks for my autograph. I sign it with a chuckle. The firefighters soon leave, once everyone is safe, but they remind me to let them do their job.

Once the crowd goes back to normal, I turn my attention to Tris. "So..." I start awkwardly, "Where to next?"

She shrugs, then thinks of a place, "Remember the place I pointed out while we were on the Farris Wheel?"

I think for a moment, then nod.

"Let's go there next."

While we walk there, we talk about what happened. I don't want to, but Tris thinks that it will help.

"I still can't believe you did that!" she says while laughing.

"I can't either," a familiar voice behind us says.

We turn around to see Mrs. Matthews with her arms crossed. "Why aren't you two in school?" she asks.


	31. Chapter 31 as well as a note

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! But yay! We broke 75 for reviews, 100 for favorites, and 150 for follows! Thanks guys!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Insurgent, or Divergent.**

**So (if you're wondering) this is an A/N as well as Chapter 31. I've had this chapter written for a while now, but it seemed to dark, so I decided to re-write it...and if you could do me a huge favor as to writing if you like Option one or two (I personally like Option two the best, but I wanted a reader's perspective of it before I (well, now I already have) published this chapter) in a review, that would amazing! Thanks again!**

* * *

**Option One:**

**Tris POV:**

After Four and I get over the initial shock of seeing our principal at a carnival on a Thursday morning, we are hauled away by Mrs. Matthews.

"Where are you taking us?" I ask, sounding more weak than intended.

"You'll see," is her only response. Her hands are positioned neatly behind her back, and even though her body language reads calm, I know she's not very happy. She is walking alone in front of us, and though we could take off running, Four and I know better.

Mrs. Matthews does not look back, and I know she can sense her power. She exits the carnival, and Four and I follow suit. She gets in a car, and we get in the back seats. We fasten our seat belts and a driver takes us away.

Not once does Mrs. Matthews look at us. She just stares ahead at the road, thinking to herself. Then she turns to us, with a smirk creeping onto her face.

Four and I glance at each other. We are trapped.

* * *

A few minutes later, the driver stops. He pulls into a parking lot, and soon we are walking through the back entrance to the school.

"Thank you Nile," Mrs. Matthews says, and a minute later, she is leading us through a series of halls, and opens a door to what can only be her office. It's tidy, but her desk is covered with notes, and designs. Designs that look as if they are for the city's town center. She swiftly scoops them up, and puts them in a filing cabinet behind her desk.

"Sit down," Mrs. Matthews commands.

Four and I immediately sit down in the two seats in front of her desk.

Mrs. Matthews takes out some heavily-filled files from the same cabinet and puts them on her desk, before sitting down in front of us.

"What _on earth_ were you two thinking?"

Four shrugs and stares ahead.

I clear my throat then begin, "We couldn't stop thinking about Al. We had to get away."

Mrs. Matthews looks intrigued, but keeps her scowl on her face. "Away from what?"

This time Four talks for both of us. "Away from the drama. A was a great guy, but he hurt Tris, and we just couldn't see why people didn't see his suicide coming."

Mrs. Matthews nods, as if she was expecting this. "Alright. Now since I brought you hear for a more pressing matter, I will just give you each a detention, and we will move on." She glances back to us, "Okay?"

We nod, not daring to argue. And besides, one detention is not terrible. Mr. Max is bound to understand.

"Now," Mrs. Matthews continues, "As you know, my husband is running against the current mayor, your father Marcus Eaton." She glances at Four, then continues, "And I will do _anything_ in my power to get him elected. If we controlled the city, I'm _positive_ that we can get this city back in order and control the rebel gang violence. Now, so far, Marcus Eaton has gotten nowhere. And now he wants to release the information to the city. He feels that it's his duty. But what he doesn't realize is that doing that will be a big mistake. My husband and I would rather resort to killing then releasing dangerously powerful information. So we will try as hard as we can to stop him. Now, you two _will_ work for us. We can do this two ways. One, you do what I say, or two, I force you. So what shall it be?"

And as if to prove her point, she takes a syringe out of her desk. It's filled with a sickly-colored orange liquid. Four and I recoil at the sight of it, but do not let our guard down.

"No," Four says firmly, "As much as I detest what my father has done to me, I will _never_ work for you." Then he looks at me, and his expression softens a little bit, "Let's go, Tris."

I nod to him and then turn to Mrs, Matthews. "Same for me."

Mrs. Matthews nods slowly, understanding. Then she does what I least expect her to do. She presses a button on the intercom, and talks into it, "Eric and Peter, you may come in, and wear your protective gear. And bring Nile too; he is needing for questioning the suspects."

The suspects.

Four looks at me and squeezes my hand. I look at him, and he pecks my cheek.

Then the door blasts open.

Eric grabs Four and Peter puts me in a full Nelson. A man, who must be Nile strolls in. He sits down calmly.

"Why?" I ask Peter.

"Well,_ Stiff_, you saved me so I saved you. Now it's your chance to learn that Mrs. Matthews is not an enemy you want to have."

"You two," Mrs. Matthews says. "Shut it."

Peter nods. Soon I do the same.

"As I was saying," Mrs. Matthews continues, "Beatrice, I know your dad works for Marcus, so I suspected you from the beginning."

"Why?" I ask out of curiosity.

She takes in a deep breath. "As I said, Marcus wants to release dangerous information about the city. I would rather resort to killing the whole city."

I look at our principal quizzingly. "Like in a cult where mass suicide is performed? Are you nuts?"

She ponders the thought for a minute, before responding. "The information is the key to why people settled here in the early. And why gang violence was at it's prime time then. Just think of what we could discover. If everyone found out, they would move out of the city's borders and Chicago would crumble in front of us."

But still, I press for more information. "But why exactly is the information so dangerous?"

"Beca-" she starts, but Four cuts her off. Eric tightens his grip on her, but that doesn't stop Four from talking.

"My mother's grandfather was Al Capone. He was born in New York, but came to Chicago in his early twenties. Then he started a gang, which my mother has recently continued, and become the leader of it."

I gasp. I remember going to Mrs. Eaton's funeral. Caleb and I were the only kids there. And ever since then, Four wouldn't ever come to the dinner parties that my family would host. Because it was all an act. But what had Marcus done to his wife that was so terrible? Had he beat her, like he did Four?

Mrs. Matthews continues for Four, and takes me back to reality. "Most people came to Chicago in hopes of getting jobs and getting the lower and higher classes to live more closely in a independent community. Then gangs started up." She looks to Four, "Your mother would most likely be found at the Northwestern University Settlement House.

"But, let's get back to why you two are here. As I was saying, Beatrice, I had suspected you from the beginning. Your family is all about helping the community thrive, but they are taking it in the wrong direction. I also saw your aptitude placement test, the HSPT, to get into this school, and no one had ever gotten a perfect score on the Cognitive Section for Verbal Skills, like you did. And for the record, we will be re-writing the test, to make one that no one will be able to get a perfect score on. Anyways, when I asked Tori to enter the tests into the computer, she put yours in manually, as did she do it for your second semester English grades for the previous year. I should have known this would have happened, especially with what happened with her brother. But would you like to tell me how you got the results; why it seems like you are 'Little Miss Perfect'?"

I shrug. Then I know what she wants. She wants me to act like I know how I got the answers. She wants me to be cocky, like I know what I'm doing. Like I'm not a minion of Marcus. So I flip my hair to the side, and begin, "I'm perfect. This school is lucky to have me. And I am 'Little Miss Perfect'."

Mrs. Matthews smiles slightly. She heard what she wanted to hear. She then writes something down in one of her files. Then she turns to Four. "But Tobias, or shall I call you _Four_, managed awe me. Everything about you checked out: a nearly-perfect score on the test, one good enough to get into some of the nation's top universities, a 3.4 GPA, captain of the varsity football team from your old high school, and a plethora of community service hours that you had completed within a year. You were also listed as 'Athlete of the Week' for The Chicago Times' twice. Sounds like a great guy that's the mayor's son, who is very popular with the city. But I knew better. I used to be good friends with Marcus, and I know of his drinking problems.

"So I decided to look into your file. It appeared that during middle school, while you were changing in the locker room, your P.E. teacher saw an immense number of scars on your back. He had wrote that you said, quote unquote, 'They came from a dirt bike accident, Mr. Novito.' And as much as he would have believed you, you said it shakily, and got upset when he tried to speak to you about it again. Mr. Novito contacted the Child Protective Services of Chicago, and he pulled you out of class. He claimed that you had started crying and mentioned to the social worker that not only your father beat you, but he faked your mother's death. But he thought that you had lied under pressure. Now, I knew that Marcus had a drinking problem, and helped turn him into a rehab center. Then you went to a boarding school on the other side of the city, and had gotten tattoos all over your back to help cover up the scars. A few years later, you both got out, and here we are today."

I gasp again. I know Four was beat as a child, but I didn't know that it was this gory.

Then Four grunts. "With all due respect, I know my goddy life story. I don't need to hear it again."

"Very well," Mrs. Matthews says. "Beatrice, you are my top choice, with your excellent results. But your math skills are not quite good enough, and I need someone that is useful in all skills. So, Tobias, that leaves it up to you." She puts on a pair of latex gloves and picks up the syringe, inserting a needle into it.

"Never." Four snarls. He tries to wiggle out of Eric's reach, but Eric's hold only tightens.

"Elections are in November. And I will succeed with my plans." Mrs. Matthews says. She walks up to Four, syringe in hand. But before she can press it in, I lunge at her neck, and dig my fingernails in. She groans in protest, and I am pulled off by Peter. He puts me in a choke hold position. Mrs. Matthews rubs her neck, and inserts the needle into Tobias's neck. Then she speaks again, her voice scratchy from my hands. "The serum will go into effect after one minute. It will make you obey my every command. If you disobey, Eric will shoot you. Nile here will question you." She gestures towards him, and he stands up, positions the chair so that when he sits down, he sits right in front of us.

"To get us started," Nile says after a minute has passed, "Tell me your name."

"Four."

"That is a nickname. Tell me your real name."

"Tobias," he says, scowling and squirming in his chair.

"Tell me what your father's plans for the city are."

He squirms, so I know the real him is there, but then his eyes turn cold, and he speaks in a monotone voice. "He wants to release the information about rebel gang violence and tell the city that the problem is much bigger than everyone thinks."

"And why does he think that this plan will work?"

"You know why."

"_Tell_ me why," Mrs. Matthews steps in and urges.

Four gulps, and then continues. "He doesn't know if the plan will work or not, necessarily. He's more focused on the benefits that it will get him."

"What benefits?"

"Trust. He wants to get the whole city on his side. He thinks that if they know the truth, they will like him even more."

Nile gapes at this. "Even...even if it's not what they want to hear?"

"Even so. He wants them to know the truth. He feels that if they know that he has their trust now, he can hold it for when the city really changes."

"Interesting..." Mrs. Matthews mutters.

"Now tell me Tobias, why does your father think the city will change so much?" Nile asks.

"Because...because of the gang violence. People are rebelling and he has been observing it for the past four years. Now he just thinks that if he tells the whole city the truth, they'll forgive him for not stepping in and stopping it."

"Who does your allegiance remain with?" Nile asks.

"My allegiance relies with anyone who does not support the attack on the current City Council Board."

"Speaking of which," Nile says, "I think we should focus on what happened that day. What all do you remember?"

I ignore everyone else in the room, and think back to what happened over the summer. One particular day in June stands out. The day of the attack.

_*Flashback*_

_"Caleb, Tris, we're leaving and will be back around three," my mom says. She kisses my cheek and then her and my dad walk out the door._

_For the next two hours, I draw and text Christina._

_Then I hear a loud boom. I look outside and hear shouting._

_"Beatrice," Caleb says. "Come look."_

_I run up to the TV and see him watching the local news._

_"Breaking News," the reporter says, "I'm here at the Chicago town center with Christopher, and a riot has started up. During a city board meeting, people had lined up outside, shouting hateful remarks toward Marcus Eaton. When the council got out, they were bombarded with a crowd of people who had blank guns. They started shooting them, and causing a scene, making Daniel Matthews, who's running against Marcus in the upcoming election for mayor, to run out of his office and save the day. The police were on the scene within minutes, and no one was injured, but people have been saying that this makes Marcus' chances of winning more slim. Marcus recently stated that 'He would do anything to win the next election, and get Chicago back in order. Back to you, Mitchell."_

_*End of Flashback*_

I thought it was nothing at the time, since no one had made such a big deal out of it.

Turns out, I was wrong. But the real problem has only just begun.

* * *

**Option Two:**

**Tris POV:**

After Four and I get over the initial shock of seeing our principal at a carnival on a Thursday morning, we are hauled away by Mrs. Matthews.

"Where are you taking us?" I ask, sounding more weak than intended.

"You'll see," is her only response. Her hands are positioned neatly behind her back, and even though her body language reads calm, I know she's not very happy. She is walking alone in front of us, and though we could take off running, Four and I know better.

Mrs. Matthews does not look back, and I know she can sense her power. She exits the carnival, and Four and I follow suit. She gets in a car, and we get in the back seats. We fasten our seat belts and a driver takes us away.

Not once does Mrs. Matthews look at us. She just stares ahead at the road, thinking to herself. Then she turns to us, with a smirk creeping onto her face.

Four and I glance at each other. We are trapped.

* * *

A few minutes later, the driver stops. He pulls into a parking lot, and soon we are walking through the back entrance to the school.

"Thank you Nile," Mrs. Matthews says, and a minute later she is leading us through a series of halls, and opens a door to what can only be her office. It's tidy, but her desk is covered with notes, and designs. Designs that look as if they are for the city's town center. She swiftly scoops them up, and puts them in a filing cabinet behind her desk.

"Sit down," Mrs. Matthews commands.

Four and I immediately sit down in the two seats in front of her desk.

Mrs. Matthews takes out some heavily-filled files from the same cabinet and puts them on her desk, before sitting down in front of us.

"What _on earth_ were you two thinking?"

Four shrugs and stares ahead.

I clear my throat then begin, "We couldn't stop thinking about Al. We had to get away."

Mrs. Matthews looks intrigued, but keeps her scowl on her face. "Away from what?"

This time Four talks for both of us. "Away from the drama. A was a great guy, but he hurt Tris, and we just couldn't see why people didn't see his suicide coming."

Mrs. Matthews nods, as if she was expecting this. Then she pauses for a minute to adjust her hair. For the first time, I realize how similar we look. The same long blonde hair and curious eyes. In a way, she reminds me of my dad. How they both yearn for knowledge. But he's more selfless. More giving than most people in the city. Then Mrs. Matthews looks back to us. "Alright. I will just give you each a detention, since I have more pressing matters to take care of." She glances back to us, "Okay?"

We nod, not daring to argue. And besides, one detention is not terrible. Mr. Max is bound to understand.

"Alright," she says. Then she takes out a felt-tipped pen, pushes her glasses up, and starts writing notes down in what I assume are our permanent records. "I'll be back in a minute. Stay here."

We nod, and she puts down the files and pen and walks out of the room.

"How long do you think she'll be gone?" I whisper to Four.

He shrugs. "Five, ten minutes maybe. Why are you whispering?"

"This room could be bugged."

He nods in understand-ment, and gets up.

"What are you doing?"

He ignores me for a minute and cracks open the door, peaking into the hallway. He closes it a minute later, smiling.

"Four! What are you doing?" I repeat. Although I hate being the center of attention, I also hate being ignored.

"Looking for something."

I nod, and get up to help him.

"What are we looking for?"

"The flash drive." He says, without pausing his hands. They rummage through drawers like nothing.

"Ah ha!" he exclaims, holding the flash drive up after a minute.

"What if it's not the right one? That drawer is full of those."

He looks at me, but not down to me. "Mrs. Matthews clearly marked it with the Erudite's club symbol: a blue eye."

"Yeah, but tons of those are in there."

He holds the flash drive up. "This flash drive has the same letters as it did before."

"Y-you've seen it before?"

He nods. "I've been researching the topic. I snuck in after everyone left."

Then we hear footsteps down the hall.

"Someone's coming." I whisper.

Four nods, and pushes the drawer in. Then he sits down and we pretend to look bored.

"Ah, good." Mrs. Matthews says, as she walks in. "You two are still here. Well, it seems as if we are done with you two for now, so you may leave."

We nod and walk out.

"There goes that idea," Four says.

I nod, and stare ahead, not wanting to go back to class. Then I think about what Mrs. Matthews said._ It seems as if we are done with you two for now_, makes it seem as if she's not done with us. As if she's going to use us. And why did she use 'we', and not 'I'?

Four looks to me, and takes my hand, squeezing it gently.

"See you in detention."

"Yeah." Then I walk to English class.

* * *

"Mr. Max?" I knock on his classroom door. Then I huff and push it open slightly. Mr. Max is rapidly typing on his laptop. All his attention is drawn into it. I clear my throat. "Mr. Max?"

"Oh," he looks up from the screen, but his fingers don't stop typing. "Hello Tris."

"Hi. Um, I won't be able to be tutored today. I have, uh, detention."

"Ah, yes. Jea-Mrs. Matthews told me about that. Good day."

I nod and walk back out into the hall. When I look back, I see him concentrated on the screen again.

As I walk to class A56, I think about my conversation with Mr. Max. He seemed eager to get back to what he was doing, yet nervous. Like someone who's not supposed to know about it is gonna rip down the door and look at what he was doing. Like it's something secretive. Like what he was talking to Peter and Eric about. Something that they were doing for Mrs. Matthews.

I connect the dots and soon realize what Mr. Max must've been doing. It was so simple all along. Eric and Peter were taking a file out of Marcus' computer. They must have given it to Mrs. Matthews to use against Marcus in the upcoming election.

But if they were doing that to Marcus, where they doing it to the whole city council as well? Were they doing it to my father? They must've, because the current city council does not think highly of Mr. Matthews.

I rub my eyes, and push A56's door open.

"Why hello!" A cheery voice says.

"Hi," I start awkwardly, not expecting the cheeriness in detention.

"I'm Mrs. Reyes, but you can call me Johanna. If you don't know me, I teach art and cheer, and am the Peace and Justice Club adviser." The voice's cheery owner says. I vaguely remember seeing Johanna at an assembly. But whether you've seen her one time or a thousand, it is hard to forget. A scar stretches in a thick line from just above her right eyebrow to her lip, rendering her blind in one eye and giving her a lisp when she talks. I have only heard her speak once, but I remember. She would have been a beautiful woman if not for that scar.

I nod, taking it all in. The room is covered with splattered paint, a mural of a farm on one wall, and tons of supplies, most of which are scattered on random desks.

Johanna leads me to a set of desks, all of which are arranged in a circle. "Meet the misfits," she tells me, a smile trying to creep into her face. But not a demented one, more of a friendly one. Like she's happy to be here.

A few people look like regulars to detention, happy to be here, in a room full of people that they'll try to cheer up. Others look like this is the last place they want to be. But they don't look mad. Or even regretful of their actions. Like they came here in a bad mood, and found it to be a nice place. And still, others look uncomfortable. The smarties. Cara, and Fernando, I recognize. But there's a whole group of them, like they all did one thing wrong and got sent here.

Someone knocks on the door, and Johanna gets up to answer it.

"Welcome," she says. "I thought you'd never make it. And you know how strict Mrs. Matthews is."

She puts her arms up to their shoulders, one kid at a time, and smiles. "Let me take care of you."

_Strange choice of words from a teacher who's leading detention._

A minute later, Peter and Four walk in scowling; their hair messed up, and their clothes ruffled, like they got in a fight. Four sits down next to me, and slips the flash drive in my hand.

"Hey!" Peter whispers. Then he sits down on my other side. "Why does she get it? It's not like she's mentally stable, with her father crazy and all."

"What are you talking about?!" I whisper back.

"Mrs. Matthews wrote another report, about you skipping school and being a druggie. It attacked your father. She wrote 'em about everyone on the city council."

I roll my eyes. Mrs. Matthews is a b*tch. Who else would know how to get to my father through his children?

Four rubs my shoulder. He can sense my tense-ness.

Peter clears his throat quietly. "_Anyways_...why do you get the hard-drive? You're obviously not stable."

I laugh. "Neither are you. Why would you believe that stupid article?"

Peter shrugs. Then he takes the flash drive out of my pocket.

"Hey!" I shout.

Johanna is talking to Four, and I can't get his attention without getting the teacher's.

"Give it back!"

"No."

Then I lung at him.

* * *

**A/N Wow. Those took a long time to write. So if you read this far without nodding off, congrats! Now, tell me if you like Option One or Two best! Thx!**


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